A total of 5 Indian Test cricketers, including vice-captain Rohit Sharma, have been kept in isolation and an investigation has been started into a possible breach of the Covid19 protocol by them.
The other Team India cricketers, who have been placed in isolation, include opener Shubman Gill, wicketkeeper-batsman Rishabh Pant, Prithvi Shaw and Navdeep Saini.
This was confirmed by Cricket Australia on Saturday.
The step was taken by the authorities in Australia after a fan of Team India uploaded a video of the players eating at an indoor restaurant on Twitter on Friday, which went viral.
The fan claimed to have been seated close to them and also talked about getting a hug from cricketer Pant after he paid for the players’ meal, said a media report.
But the fan later retracted the claim about the hug after it raised serious questions on a breach of protocol, said the report.
The Board of Control for Cricket (BCCI) top brass initially ruled out any investigation after reports of the possible breach that appeared in the media.
But Cricket Australia in its statement confirmed that a joint investigation is on into the case.
The third Vodafone Test between Australia and India was scheduled to be held from January 7-11 in Sydney Cricket Ground.
The fourth Vodafone Test between the two countries was scheduled to be held on January 15-19 in Brisbane Cricket Ground.