Don't see the reason why families can't accompany players in Australia: Ganguly
Melbourne: BCCI President Sourav Ganguly strongly feels that Indian cricketers should be accompanied by their families for the upcoming tour of Australia as a lot of them have been alone in an IPL bio-bubble for nearly 80 days.
"They (players) have already been living in a bubble for the last 80 days," Ganguly told 'The Age'.
Asked if the tour would be in doubt if families cannot accompany the players, Ganguly replied: "I don't see a reason why the families won't be allowed to come. The Australian cricket board is trying to accommodate the families. It should be okay."
There appear to be some issues to be settled between the BCCI and Cricket Australia on the bio-security measures the host nation has devised but Ganguly said the Indian team will travel to Sydney immediately after the IPL ends on November 10.
"So far it is ahead. The initial part will be in Sydney. We are still in discussions on how to get the bio-bubble part and medical parts stronger because it's a long tour," Ganguly was quoted as saying by the Australian newspaper.
"But I am told Australia is COVID free at the moment, there aren't many cases. Basically, we are trying to get everything in place and make sure it is safe. That's all," he said.
Ganguly also said that they have requested Cricket Australia to ensure that its players can train during the 14-day quarantine period.
"We have requested that because they have been in the IPL for a long time (in the UAE) and then they go straight from the IPL to Australia because there is a 14-day quarantine. It will be solved," Ganguly told Australian newspaper 'The Age'.
Sydney and Canberra are likely to host the white-ball leg of three T20Is and as many ODIs while the four-match Test series is starting with a D/N pink-ball match in Adelaide from December 17. Brisbane, Melbourne, and Sydney are the venues of the other three Tests.
Ganguly is also hoping that the families of the Indian players will be allowed to be accommodated in the bio-secure bubble in Australia.
He, however, refused to speculate on India captain Virat Kohli potentially missing out a Test as he and his wife Anushka Sharma are expecting their first child.
"This is a personal question. I don't like to comment and I have not asked him," Ganguly said.
CA had originally planned to have the white-ball series after the Test series.
Asked about this, Ganguly said, "It's just about the timing to get everything accommodated. There is Boxing Day Test, New Year's Day Test, all these remain on schedule. Then India comes back and plays against England straightaway for the Test series and one-day series.
"The T20s were supposed to be before the (T20) World Cup but that has not gone through because of the COVID. We are trying to get the best possible schedule and finish the one-dayers and T20s so the players can get back."
The former India captain is also hoping his "Super Series" plan for an annual one-day series tournament between India, Australia, and England would go ahead once COVID-19 issues were resolved.
"It hasn't gone anywhere because of COVID. We don't know what is going to happen in the next six, seven months. A lot of tournaments and series have been canceled so that needs to be rescheduled," he said.
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Iran crisis: 225 flights cancelled at Mumbai, Delhi airports
New Delhi (PTI): As many as 225 international flights were cancelled at Mumbai and Delhi airports on Sunday due to operational disruptions in the wake of the US and Israel attacks on Iran and the subsequent closure of airspaces in the Gulf region.
Of the 225 flights, 125 flights were cancelled at Mumbai airport and at least 100 flights at Delhi Airport, sources say.
A source said 60 international departures and 40 arrivals have been cancelled at Delhi Airport.
"Due to the evolving political situation in the Middle East, west-bound international flights may experience disruptions or schedule changes," DIAL said in a post on X.
Delhi International Airport Ltd (DIAL) operates the Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA) in the national capital.
"A total of 125 flights have been cancelled at Mumbai Airport up till 2.30 pm on Sunday. These include 67 departures and 58 arrivals," said another source.
It may be mentioned here that due to the paucity of parking space, authorities at Mumbai Airport had taken NOTAM for not accepting any flight on account of diversion at 9 pm on Saturday until 8 am on March 1 amid the developments in West Asia.
The decision was taken due to the paucity of parking space at the airport with a number of flights returning to their origin or diverting to nearby airports, a source had said.
Mumbai International Airport Ltd, the private airport operator, issued a NOTAM (Notice to Airmen) "for not accepting any more diversions" at 9 pm, the source added.
Earlier, the Civil Aviation Ministry said 444 international flights are expected to be cancelled by domestic carriers on Sunday.
