India cricketers test negative after Australia bubble ‘breach’

Sydney: India’s team and support staff all tested negative for COVID-19 after five players allegedly breached their bio-security bubble, officials said on Monday.

The quintet — Rohit Sharma, Rishabh Pant, Shubman Gill, Prithvi Shaw and Navdeep Saini — were filmed dining inside a Melbourne restaurant on New Year’s Day.

The Australian state of Victoria, of which Melbourne is the capital, is battling to stem a cluster of virus cases tied to a wider outbreak in neighbouring New South Wales.

In response, authorities require restaurant-goers to dine outdoors and maintain social distancing.

While the five were allowed to continue training, they were told to stay apart from the broader Indian squad, with the entire tour party tested on Sunday.

The Indian cricket board, which has not said whether the five will be punished, on Monday issued a brief statement giving them the all-clear for COVID-19.

“Playing members of the Indian cricket team and support staff underwent a test for COVID-19 on January 3, 2021. All tests have returned negative results,” it said. Australia’s team and staff were also tested and they too came back negative.

Both teams headed to Sydney on Monday for the third Test starting on Thursday, with the four-Test series level at 1-1.

There are currently an estimated 273 active cases in Australia, although many are travellers in quarantine.