India boycott Melbourne game against Australia following Ravindra Jadeja incident

The issues between the India National Cricket Team and the Australian media continue to flare up ahead of the third game of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25. A lot has happened ahead of the Boxing Day Test match, which will be played at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne from 26th December.

It all started with Virat Kohli lashing out at the Australian media for filming his family without his permission. The senior batter of the India National Cricket Team was seen having a heated argument with one of the media personnel at the Melbourne airport.

Australian media made a big issue after Ravindra Jadeja didn't give answers during press conferences in English

Things got worse when Australian media made a big issue after Ravindra Jadeja didn't give answers in press conferences in English. The media even had an argument with the Indian team's media manager about the all-rounder answering only in Hindi and not in English before leaving the ground.

However, amid the tensions between Indian and Australian media, the visitors have decided to boycott the planned media match. Indian media and backroom team members were scheduled to play a friendly T20 match against their Australian counterparts. The match was scheduled to take place at Melbourne’s Junction Oval on Sunday after it was organized by Cricket Australia.

Indian team's media manager boycotts friendly T20 match against their Australian media

But as per the reports in The Age, it is learned that it was the Indian team's media manager who boycotted the match. He passed on the information to the other media members and without enough players for a full team, the match was canceled, leading to more tensions.

While this has been the backdoor scene, attention is certainly towards the fourth match of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25. Both the teams have been putting in hard yards ahead of the Boxing Day Test, which will be a virtual series decider between the teams as well.

The series between India and Australia is levelled at 1-1

The series between India and Australia is levelled at 1-1. It was the visitors who won the first match by a massive margin of 295 runs at Perth, and then the hosts made a dominating comeback. They completed a 10-wicket win in the pink-ball Test at the Adelaide Oval in Adelaide to level the series.

The third Test between the teams, which took place at the Gabba in Brisbane ended in a draw. But it saw a magnificent battle between bat and ball. Australia was at the top on the first three days but the visitors came up with a spectacular effort to avoid the follow-on before rain washed out the game.

With the series now levelled, the upcoming MCG Test promises to be a thriller. The Rohit Sharma-led side hasn't lost a Boxing Day Test against Australia in the last 10 years, and they would be hoping to continue their record and inch one step closer to the final of the ICC World Test Championship.

Also read: Hardik Pandya to skip Vijay Hazare Trophy group stage matches despite BCCI's stern message