No One Has Got A God-given Right To Play: Justin Langer Takes A Dig At India Over Quarantine Demands

Australian coach Justin Langer has taken a dig at Team India ahead of the third Test amid the tourists’ concerns surrounding another hotel quarantine in Brisbane. Recently reports emerged that India were looking at boycotting the Brisbane Test if strict coronavirus protocols were enforced again. A team source was quoted as saying that the team would like to play two Tests at the same venue instead of undergoing another strict quarantine.

The reports stated that India were deeply concerned for its playing group, which was mentally exhausted by the whole process. The Indian players have been staying in bio-secure bubbles since August when they travelled to the UAE for the IPL before flying to Australia for ongoing tour. But amid all the concerns and the reports of Gabba boycott, Justin Langer has sent a clear reminder to all players when asked about the dilemma.

“We all have a choice, that’s one thing,” Justin Langer said on Tuesday.

“No one has got a God-given right to play for Australia and for their country. Every one of us can step outside of it. I have been very consistent in saying that if anyone can deal with it cricketers can because that’s how we live most of our lives anyway,” he added.

As per the existing rules, all travellers arriving in Queensland from Sydney must undergo 14 days quarantine. Team India are unlikely to get any relaxation either after the recent COVID-19 outbreak in Sydney. The visitors, however, are in no mood to undergo the quarantine as they were clear from the outset that one quarantine period was enough.

“It is not much different to what we are used to,” Justin Langer further said.

“It’s a little bit tighter than general but we will get on with it. We know how important this Test series is. India beat us here [in Australia] last time and we want to make amends for that and we want to keep moving our journey forward and the only way you can do that is by concentrating on what we can and that’s playing great cricket in this third Test match in Sydney,” he added.

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