Seven international matches, including a Test, in the space of 20 days will not allow Australia to field its best XI in all games against India in the upcoming series, head coach Matthew Mott said.
With Sydney and Melbourne being COVID-19 hot spots, the Indian team and 12 out of 18 Australian players are currently in a two-week hard quarantine.
“Our sports science people are quite rightly nervous,” said Mott, referring to seam bowlers Ellyse Perry, Annabel Sutherland, Tayla Vlaeminck, Maitlan Brown and Stella Campbell, who are currently in quarantine.
“They won’t bowl for 14 days and will go straight into a very congested schedule, so our management of the players has to be right on point,” he added.
“We’ll try and make it work but it’s going to be a really interesting series to see how we navigate around the complexities that will be thrown at us.”
The schedule:
ODIs: Sept. 21, Great Barrier Reef Arena, Mackay (4.35 a.m.); Sept. 24: Great Barrier Reef Arena, Mackay (8.45 a.m.); Sept. 26: Great Barrier Reef Arena, Mackay (4.35 a.m.).
Test (day-night):
Sept. 30 to Oct. 3, Metricon Stadium, Gold Coast, 11.30 a.m.;
T20Is: Oct. 7, Metricon Stadium, Gold Coast, 2.10 p.m.; Oct. 9 and 10, Metricon Stadium, Gold Coast, 1.40 p.m. (all times IST).
