‘Seriously guys? We felt so bad’ – Ravi Ashwin says Team India players weren’t allowed to use the lift with the Australians in Sydney

India’s third Test against Australia in the recent Border Gavaskar Trophy was marred with quite some controversies throughout. Despite some jaw-dropping display of cricket from the likes of Steve Smith, Rishabh Pant, and Hanuma Vihari among others, the match was mostly in the headlines due to some un-called-for events. In the meantime, Ravi Ashwin made more revelations around the game.

The Tamil Nadu-born tweaker stated that the Indian players weren’t allowed to be in the safe lift with the Australian cricketers. Ashwin was surprised with the restriction since the players from both nations were in the same bio-secure bubble. Ashwin didn’t mince any words in saying that the treatment was ‘too difficult to digest’ for the visiting team’s players.

It was too difficult for us to digest: Ravi Ashwin

“We reached Sydney they locked us with severe restrictions. There was a unique thing that happened in Sydney. It was strange, to be honest. Both India and Australia were in the same bubble. But when Australian players were in the lift, they won’t allow Indian players inside it,” Ashwin was quoted as saying in a conversation with India’s fielding coach R Sridhar on his YouTube channel.

“Seriously guys? We felt so bad at that time. We are in the same bubble. But you get into the lift and you can’t share the space with another person staying in the same bubble. It was too difficult for us to digest. We are all in the same bubble, but you can’t get into the lift and share the lift space,” Ashwin added.

During the SCG Test, Ashwin was also involved in a severe altercation with opposition captain Tim Paine. When he was showing a great rear-guard action to carry India to a draw, Paine tried to ruffle his feathers, even using abusive language. The Aussie skipper, thereafter, was greeted with flak.

Ashwin missed the last Test in Brisbane due to a back problem, but he ended the series as India’s leading wicket-taker with 12 scalps. The 34-year-old is now busy preparing for India’s home Tests against England, starting February 5 at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai.