'4-5 Guys Put The Whole Test Series At Risk': Tim Paine On 'Selfish' Indian Players

The incident when Indian players were alleged to have broken the rules during BGT 2020-21.

The Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2020-21 was one of the most memorable test series in a long time where India managed to defeat Australia 2-1 including beating them at the Gabba, which was considered the Fortress for the home team. 

A lot of things happened during that series that begin with a 36 all-out for India to the Gabba heist. With the series being played under strict bio-bubble protocols due to Covid, players weren't allowed to move freely. 

However, there was one incident where the touring Indian players went to a restaurant to get themselves something to eat. According to the protocols, the players weren't allowed to sit inside the restaurant. However, in a few viral photos and videos, a few Indian cricketers including Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill, Rishabh Pant, Prithvi Shaw, and Navdeep Saini were seen sitting inside a restaurant in Melbourne. 

Speaking on the incident on docu-series 'Bandon Me Tha Dum', then Australia captain, Tim Paine, said: "I mean those four or five guys put the whole Test series at risk. For what? For a bowl a Nando's chips or wherever they went, like I just find that pretty selfish to be honest."

Even Pat Cummins wasn't happy with the incident and revealed that a few Australian cricketers were annoyed with whatever happened. 

"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 the tour to hear that the other team were flouting the rules and not taking it seriously," said Cummins.

However, Ajinkya Rahane, who captained India in the last three test matches of the series, completely ridiculed the incident saying the Indians didn't break any covid protocols. 

"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. The Australian cricket board said that when you will go to Sydney from Melbourne, no one can come out of the hotel and you have to undergo quarantine. 

In the outside world, especially in Sydney, everything was normal. There was no lockdown, everyone was allowed to move around and the players were asked to stay indoors. We knew that Australia have started to play mind games, especially after what happened in Melbourne," said Rahane.

Mohammad Siraj, who made his test debut in that series, was also in favor that Australians were caught off-guard which made them show such news. 

"Had we lost the 2nd Test, then that would not have happened. After making a comeback from being 36 all out, they were caught off-guard. They suddenly re-introduced quarantine."

From 1-0 down in the first test, India went on to win the four-match series 2-1 despite missing several key players including the then Indian captain Virat Kohli.