The fourth and final Test between India and Australia, which is slated to begin on January 15 in Brisbane, Queensland has become uncertain after the Indian team refused to travel to Queensland and follow the imposed quarantine restrictions there. Owing to new community transmission cases of COVID-19 reported in New South Wales, Queensland has already closed their borders and both the Australian and Indian teams are likely to travel to Queensland on a chartered flight as well.

On the other hand, the Australian team has been told that after their arrival in Brisbane they are only allowed to their hotel rooms when they are not training or playing, but the Indian team has not received any such guidelines, as per the reports of The Australian. Both teams are set to travel to Sydney on Monday as well for the upcoming Test.

Meanwhile, a senior Indian team official was quoted as saying by Cricbuzz that the team doesn't want to travel to Brisbane and enter in a 'hard bubble' again, after staying in quarantine for 14 days in Dubai and then another 14 days in Sydney as well. "If you look at it, we were quarantined for 14 days in Dubai before landing in Sydney and doing so for another 14 days. That means we were in a hard bubble for nearly a month before coming out. What we don't want now is to quarantine again at the end of the tour," a source in the Indian team said to the website.

"All we're saying is the boys have been in various states of lockdowns and bubbles for nearly six months now. And it's not been easy for anyone. If you look at it, we are one of only two teams who have had zero issues while being on a tour during this pandemic. After all this time, what we don't want is to be sent into another hard bubble, which seems will be the case in Brisbane," the source further added to the website.

However, this comes after five Indian cricketers allegedly breached the bio-secure bubble in Melbourne and the BCCI is investigating a video where it can be seen five Indian cricketers Rohit Sharma, Rishabh Pant, Shubman Gill, Navdeep Saini, and Prithvi Shaw breaching Cricket Australia's bio-security rules. The five players were seen sitting indoors in Secret Kitchen Noodles & BBQ restaurant in Melbourne when there was no permission to eat indoors.

This step assumes the significance especially after a recent increase of COVID-19 cases in Victoria, where Melbourne is situated as well, and around Sydney in New South Wales where the third Test will take place from January 7.