Dining Out Lands Several Players in Controversy In Australia
Holding an extreme view and carting the ball out of the park is what interests him most. He is a hard hitter at all times. Fasten your seatbelts and read.
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By Slogger
First publised on 2021-01-04 06:21:44
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Holding an extreme view and carting the ball out of the park is what interests him most. He is a hard hitter at all times. Fasten your seatbelts and read.
View all posts by this Author
A huge controversy has erupted in Australia due to the visit of a few Indian players to a restaurant for dinner. Since there are several biosecurity protocols in place, players are not allowed to dine out in halls and keep away from people. But when these players went out for dinner, they were snapped in the dining hall and one fan claimed to have paid their bill and hugged Rishabh Pant. This immediately made Cricket Australia isolate the five players - Rohit Sharma, Rishabh Pant, Shubman Gill, Navdeep Saini and Prithvi Shaw. An investigation was also put in place by both Cricket Australia and BCCI.
The players have a different version of the event. They say they dined outside but went inside the dining hall as it started drizzling. They say the fan clicked pictures without permission and also paid the bill without being asked to. He never came near the players and lied about hugging Rishabh Pant. The fan later retracted his tweets. The players claim that they did not break any health protocol and their version should have been heard before isolating them.
The team management has said that the entire team will practice together and will also travel together to Sydney for the third Test. It has clarified that as a precaution, the five players have been asked to maintain social distancing norms and not mingle as freely with the rest of the squad as before. Cricket Australia has also said that they have "put in place a flexible plan which suits the present situation in Australia."
The controversy is likely to have a mental effect on the Indian team's preparation for the third Test. Since Rohit Sharma had just come out of injury and quarantine, the matter is likely to affect him hard. It also shows the danger of players venturing out, even for private dinners. Since there are fans everywhere, it becomes an impossible task to keep them away. In this case, the fan had no business lying about hugging Pant and possibly ensuring that Pant, along with the others, does not get to play in the Sydney Test. These are difficult times and fans must understand this. Hopefully the version of the players will stand and India will be able to choose its best squad to play in the Sydney Test.
