The outbreak of the coronavirus has seen the Australian government seal the international boundaries till September 30. But Cricket Australia is not only keen to conduct the T20 World Cup in October, but also have India travel Down Under for the bilateral series at the end of the year. In fact, CA CEO Kevin Roberts is keen to add an extra Test to the four-match series. But the BCCI is not willing to commit at this point in time.
Speaking to IANS, a BCCI official said that a decision on that can be taken at the right time and any planning at this stage would be too early in the wake of the pandemic.
“It is too early to say if we will be keen to play five Tests in Australia at the end of the year. The current situation is a great teacher and we need to play it one ball at a time. Right now, the situation isn’t right to even think about something that is seven or eight months away. Who knows what the situation will be in October? Let us first see how things unfold and only then we can talk about these things. You don’t really know if the travel directives will undergo further changes in the near future,” the official said.
Reports have come in that the Australian government may exempt the travelling Indian team in order to save the cricket board from losing a whopping 300 million dollars in the wake of the pandemic.
According to a report in ‘ESPNcricinfo’, international exemptions to allow an India touring party to arrive in Australia next summer would be seriously considered by the federal government in the event of wider travel bans, strongly suggesting that Cricket Australia will be able to avoid losing up to AUD 300 million in revenue in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.
CA is also said to have received a positive response from its government regarding the same.
“…The governing body is understood to have received highly encouraging news about their outlook, at least as far as the lucrative India tour is concerned,” the report stated.
India’s tour of Australia currently consists of four Tests and three ODIs.
