5 Indian cricketers who dined at indoor restaurant placed in isolation, under investigation for breach of protocol

Five Indian cricketers, who were filmed eating at an indoor restaurant in Melbourne on Friday, have been placed in isolation, and are under investigation for allegedly breaching bio-bubble protocols.

The Indian cricketers in question – Rohit Sharma, Rishabh Pant, Shubman Gill, Prithvi Shaw and Navdeep Saini – have been separated from the Indian and Australian squads.

Cricket Australia (CA) said in a statement that the BCCI and CA are investigating the matter to determine whether the outing by the Indian cricketers constitutes a breach of biosecurity protocols. The statement further read:

"In the interim, on the advice of the Australian and Indian medical teams, the aforementioned players have been placed in isolation as a precaution. This will include separating the group of players from the broader Indian and Australian squads when traveling and at the training venue.”

The CA statement also said:

“Players will be permitted in accordance with the strict protocols that have been put in place to ensure the ongoing safety of all members of the Indian and Australian squads.”

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— cricket.com.au (@cricketcomau) January 2, 2021

Fan claims he paid bills of Indian cricketers

The action was taken after a video of the five cricketers at a table in a Melbourne restaurant was posted on the Twitter account of a fan.

Apart from claiming that he paid the bills of the Indian cricketers, the fan even boasted that he was hugged by Rishabh Pant over the gesture. However, he later retracted his claim, saying that there was no hug, and that he had written so out of over excitement. He also added that social distancing measures were followed by all.

The Border-Gavaskar Trophy between India and Australia is being held amid strict bio-secure protocols. Sydney, where the third Test is scheduled to be held, is already experiencing rising cases of COVID-19.

Earlier, Brisbane Heat players Chris Lynn and Dan Lawrence were also pulled up for biosecurity breaches. The club was fined $50,000 ($20,000 suspended) and the players $10,000 ($4,000 suspended).

India and Australia will face-off in the third Test at Sydney, which starts on January 7. While Australia won the first Test at Adelaide by eight wickets, India won the Boxing Day encounter by a similar margin.