India are worried about jeopardising their upcoming home series against England if they do end up travelling to Brisbane for the fourth and final Test on their tour of Australia, starting January 19. That is one of the key issues outlined by the team management and the BCCI in their communication with Cricket Australia this week, ESPNcricinfo understands.

Over the past few weeks, the Indian team management has expressed its reluctance to travel to Brisbane more than once, mainly because of the hard quarantine protocol put in place by the Queensland government to deal with the Covid-19 situation. And now, with Brisbane under a three-day lockdown because one person is reported to have caught the new UK strain of the virus, the BCCI and the Indian team management are concerned about the impact on the home series, which is scheduled to start on February 5.

If India travel to Brisbane, the BCCI fears the contingent might have to serve the mandatory two-week quarantine of the Indian government upon their return as well as the quarantines put in place by state governments for inbound travellers from countries with the UK strain of the virus. India are scheduled to fly out of Australia the day after the end of the Test series on January 19.

The other reason for the Indians' concern, as reported earlier, is the possibility that they would be placed under severe restrictions during the Test in Brisbane, with the Queensland government's rule forcing them to only leave the team hotel for training and the match itself.

More to follow…

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.