India’s tour to Australia in 2020-21 for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy is certainly one of the most memorable test series of all times as in this series, a relatively less-experienced Indian side went on to defeat the strong Australian side and that too, after suffering a humiliating defeat in the first test match. The Indian squad not only suffered a huge defeat in the first test but it also got out for its lowest total ever (36) and the then skipper Virat Kohli also returned for the birth of his first baby after the first test.
Team India suffered injuries too but under the charismatic leadership of Ajinkya Rahane, it went on to clinch the test series by 2-1 and also broke the 33 years old invincible record of the Aussies at The Gabba. However, the test series also had its share of controversies as Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj were racially abused by the spectators and some Indian players were also accused of flouting the COVID-19 norms.
Those were the times of the COVID-19 pandemic and the players had to live in bio-bubble. After winning the second test match at Melbourne, some Indian players Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill, Rishabh Pant, Navdeep Saini and Prithvi Shaw chose to go out and celebrate the moment by having some food outside.
A video went viral in which these players were seen sitting inside a restaurant and the fan who made this video accepted that he not only paid the bill of these cricketers but also hugged one of the players. However, that fan also confirmed that the Indian players did maintain distance. Subsequently, these players were quarantined and were allowed to travel to Sydney only after their COVID-19 test results came negative.
The Indian players were slammed for flouting the COVID-19 rules and recently the then skipper of the Australian cricket team Tim Paine spoke on this matter in a docu-series, “Bandon Mein Tha Dum” which has been directed by Neeraj Pandey. The former skipper stated that in his honest opinion, those 4-5 guys were pretty selfish as they put the whole series at risk just for Nando’s, chips or something like that.
Pat Cummins, the current skipper of Australia also expressed himself on this matter and said that it did irritate few boys especially the ones who had to spend Christmas away from their families. He added that it was too much to be on the tour spending Christmas away from families and hearing that other team members were breaching the rules and taking things lightly.
Ajinkya Rahane, the Indian cricketer who led the team in the three test matches after Virat Kohli returned to India, also spoke in detail in this regard and claimed that news of the players flouting the rules was baseless. He said that the players who were seen in the photos were actually waiting for their takeaway order but they had to sit indoor as weather was bad.
Ajinkya Rahane stated that after losing the match in Melbourne, the Aussies started playing mind games and the Australian cricket board told the Indian team to undergo quarantine in Sydney despite the fact that everything was normal in Sydney and there was no restriction on people moving around but the players had to remain indoors.
Have you watched the docu-series? What is your take in this regard? Share with us.
