Indian players face family limits

Incoming Indian cricketers face up to five months without seeing their families because of government cap on tour party size

India's captain Virat Kohli and his wife Anushka Sharma at the SCG during the last tour in 2018-19 Picture: AFP

Indian cricketers face an agonising selection choice following revelations there is limited space for family because of quarantine conditions in Australia this summer.

The vast majority have been separated from their loved ones while playing in the UAE for the past two months and face the prospect of not seeing them again until late January if they cannot accompany the touring party.

Virat Kohli’s wife Anushka Sharma is expecting their first child in January. The famous actor and producer accompanied the Indian captain to Australia on the last Test tour in 2018-19.

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“It will have to be a compelling case for families to come, but that is something we are working through at the moment,” Cricket Australia acting chief executive Nick Hockley said.

Asked if it the restrictions could be a danger to the tour going ahead Hockley claimed the issue was being worked through with the BCCI and noted that the Indians had named a squad and had flown the non-IPL elements of its squad to the UAE in preparation for departure.

Members of the Indian touring party said they were not aware of the restrictions when contacted yesterday.

NSW tourism minister Stuart Ayres was on hand to celebrate his state’s success in facilitating the tour at the last minute after negotiations with Queensland hit a wall last week, but acknowledged limits on family access.

“We’ve built provision for some family members to be in the quarantine bubble, they’ll have to meet all the same quarantine requirements that are placed on other internationals and Australians returning home who have to be in the quarantine system,” he said.

“The amount of people who fit into that will be a matter for Cricket Australia and the Indian cricket authorities. How they make those selections will be determined by those two cricket associations.”

The optics of Indian families flying into Australia when over 30,000 locals are stranded abroad and unable to return was one of the issues which caused a problem with the tour beginning in Brisbane as the state government was anxious not to upset its electorate ahead of this weekend’s election.

India announced a squad of 28 players this week with Ishant Sharma and Rohit Sharma both a chance to be added if they recover from injury. Four net bowlers have been included to bring the total number to 32.

The BCCI had indicated it was bringing a party of around 60 for the tour in early discussions. Australia’s IPL players and coaches will be on the same plane as the Indian touring party.

Cricket Australia is going to great lengths to allow players access to families and their own homes during the summer.

David Warner, Steve Smith, Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood will be allowed to skip the day-night warm up match against India at the SCG after the two white-ball series in order to freshen up before the Tests begin. Matthew Wade and Mitchell Starc were given permission to skip the start of the Sheffield Shield season.

The fracture lines in federation were on display again when cricket confirmed its summer schedule on Thursday.

New South Wales was gloating. Western Australia fuming. Victoria relieved and everybody else grateful for what they got.

The fixture was not news to readers of The Australian but the document brought home the realities of the situation. Perth will miss out on any international cricket for the first time in 50 years.

Ayres took the chance to take a swing at the Queensland government after his deal secured the white-ball series for NSW.

“This is a classic case of Queensland dropping the ball at second slip and NSW picking it up before it hits the ground,” he said.

“There’s millions of dollars of economic activity that comes from having these events in NSW, particularly the number of events that wouldn’t have been here if Queensland hadn’t decided to proceed with their quarantine and matches in that location.

“Politics has been driving most decisions in Queensland whether that’s been who you let in or who you don’t let in. It’s been entirely driven by the date of the election. It’s been most unfortunate that rather than having a focus on collaboration, health and data driving decisions it’s been political.”

Melbourne, already celebrating its first day of freedom from lockdown, was further cheered by confirmation the Boxing Day Test is in the schedule and crowds of 25,000.

Western Australia woke to the news that it has no international cricket this summer thanks to the intransigence of the state government. The Afghanistan Test planned for that state had already been postponed and the intransigence of its state government saw all matches scheduled elsewhere.