Tim Paine, the former Australia captain did not mince words about what he thought about the Indian players who allegedly flouted Covid rules during their tour of the 2020/21 tour of the country.
India’s 2021/22 tour of Australia was a dramatic one, to say the least. Apart from containing what has been regarded as one of the most thrilling Test series of the century, it also contained a few off-field incidents that took center stage. Among the most prominent of them were five Indian players allegedly flouting Covid-19 rules that were in place for the series.
Tim Paine Said 4-5 Indian Cricketers Put The Whole India-Australia Test Series 2020/21 At Risk For Flouting Covid-19 Rules Before Returning Negative
A video doing rounds on Twitter showed Rohit Sharma, who was vice-captain to Ajinkya Rahane after the second Test, Shubman Gill, Rishabh Pant, Prithvi Shaw, and Navdeep Saini eating at an indoor restaurant in Melbourne just days after India had recorded a series-leveling victory over Australia at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. The five players were then placed under isolation as a precautionary measure.
The players tested negative for Covid-19 and were deemed fit to play the next Test. However, Tim Paine, who was Australia’s captain at the time, minced no words in criticizing the players who were seen in the video.
“I mean those 4-5 guys put the whole Test series at risk. For what? For a bowl of Nando’s, chips or wherever they went like I just find that pretty selfish to be honest,” Tim Paine says in the documentary ‘Bando Mein Tha Dum’ on Voot.
Being 1-0 down, losing the services of regular skipper Virat Kohli due to his paternity leave, having lost several key players like Ishant Sharma, Mohammed Shami, Umesh Yadav, Hanuma Vihari, Ravichandran Ashwin, KL Rahul, and Ravindra Jadeja due to injuries at various stages of 4 match Test series, a second-string Ajinkya Rahane-led India staged a comeback as they won their second straight Test series on Australian soil. The win at Brisbane was more creditable as they even struggled to field an XI and eventually fielded a team without any frontline bowler.
Pat Cummins Said That Some Of The Australian Cricketers Were Annoyed
Pat Cummins, the current Australian Test captain, said that some of the host players were annoyed by the incident.
“It did annoy quite a few of the boys. Especially the ones who had to spend a Christmas without their families. That was sacrificing quite a bit to be there on that tour to hear that the other team were flouting the rules and not taking it as seriously,” he said.
Ajinkya Rahane, on the other hand, had said that the players waited inside the restaurant only because of the bad weather outside.
“The players who appeared in the pictures were actually waiting for their takeaway order. Due to bad weather, they had to wait inside. The story that appeared in the news was really wrong,” he said.
Ajinkya Rahane, who had led India in that series after the 1st Test in Adelaide spoke about how Australia played mind games after losing the Melbourne Test, and how the news was completely wrong of Indian stars breaking Covid-19 rules.
After being bundled out for 36 in the first Test, India went on to win the Tests in Melbourne and Brisbane to win the series 2-1. The visitors had many injury concerns and even Virat Kohli had gone back home, but this did not hamper the spirit and the Ajinkya Rahane-led side registered a win for the ages.
What made the win more special was that India played the final Test without Virat Kohli, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Umesh Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, and Hanuma Vihari. All the aforementioned players, except Virat Kohli (who took a paternity leave), got injured by the end of the third Test in Sydney. From getting all-out on 36 in the first Test, India bounced back to seal the series 2-1 in their favour.
Ajinkya Rahane set the tone for a dramatic turnaround for the visitors with a match-winning ton in the 2nd Test at Melbourne. He was the guiding light for the youngsters like Shubman Gill, Washington Sundar, Shardul Thakur, Mohammed Siraj, and T Natarajan who stepped up in the absence of senior players and gave their best to outclass the Aussies in their own backyard.