Mutiny in the air over Brisbane bubble

India’s lack of commitment to a Gabba bubble was forewarned weeks ago by England fast bowler Jofra Archer.

Indian coach Ravi Shastri is understood to be defiant against the new regime imposed on his players Picture: AFP

There is trouble in the camp. The Indians are threatening mutiny. They have told Cricket Australia they will not go to Brisbane. Australia is saying it is unaware of this.

The insurrection was signalled by Ravi Shastri. It is a situation forewarned to some degree by Jofra Archer.

The Indian squad expected restrictions to ease as the tour went on. They would not have bristled if they had remained the same, instead they have become stricter and suddenly the outside world is a no go zone for tired players.

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Where once they could have a coffee or a meal at an outdoor table now they must play cricket then return to quarters like migrant labourers in a work camp.

Cricket Australia said on Wednesday night it had worked to reassure the Indians that the conditions were not different in Brisbane and sounded confident about the exchanges.

When Shastri walked into the SCG on the eve of the Test match without a mask it was a clear and calculated protest.

The Indian coach and his camp reluctantly did two weeks quarantine on arrival which came on top of being in quarantine in the UAE. The IPL players - Indian and Australian - had been in a biosecurity bubble for the best part of three months before they even arrived.

BCCI chief executive Hemang Amin is understood to have told Australian cricket of its position on Wednesday. Cricket Australia say they have heard nothing since an agreement was reached on December 29 to play Sydney and Brisbane under changed conditions.

Indian sources are adamant the message has been sent and intention understood.

Everybody is chaffing at the bit, but the Indians have looked up and seen that a four Test series against England begins on February 5.

The Test in Brisbane is due to conclude on the 19th. They will arrive home by the 20th at the earliest and are understood to face another short quarantine before going straight into camp for the following series.

Archer, the England quick, signalled the sort of weariness we are seeing now when asked if he would come to the Australia for the BBL.

The bowler had spent 87 days in a bubble at that time.

“I’ll tell you, it has been mentally challenging,” he said. “I’ll be honest with you, I don’t know if I have much more bubbles left in me for the rest of the year. I haven’t seen my family, really, since February.

“The IPL is going to be most of October, November, we’re going to South Africa hopefully as well. That only leaves me with a few weeks in December for the rest of the year.”

A month later Archer was in the UAE with the Indians and Australians playing the IPL and his mood hadn’t changed.

Archer said he felt like he was in a prison.

“You’re just counting the days down until you’re free again,” he said.

“I might buy a calendar just to cross off the days so they feel like they’re going faster.”

“Four or five days in, you start to get a bit of cabin fever. You need your family to take some of that pressure off you.”

This story has been bubbling behind the scenes for some time and is a symptom of cricket in a pandemic. Cricketers, like members of the public, can only take so much.

You do not have to have missed your father’s funeral as Mohammed Siraj has, or missed your baby’s birth as Thangarasu Natarajan did. You don’t even need to have not seen your partner for 120 odd days as was the case with Steve Smith.

Even those who have had relatively smooth sailing were craving more freedom not less.

Cricket Australia are presenting confused. They argue that the two boards reached an agreement about new quarantine arrangements on December 29 and there has been no indication of any concerns at an official level.

The Australian reported on January 1 that the playing group in Melbourne was in an anxious state after hearing they would be confined to rooms in Queensland.

Some heat went out of the situation when they were assured they would be confined to the floors of their hotels, but it was not enough to appease everybody.

In Sydney the conditions are governed by Cricket Australia, in Brisbane it will be the Queensland government which ensures there are no breaches.

There is confusion over letters allegedly sent from the BCCI to Cricket Australia with the latter denying any knowledge of this.

Perhaps there is a breakdown between the team and the BCCI, but this appears to be the least likely scenario.

This situation may not be rational, it is one more Test with only two days of sitting around beforehand, but the message from the Indians is that it is one step too many.

It doesn’t hurt that the match is being played at the Gabba, but that is not what is driving this as far as I can tell.