Virat Kohli, Hardik Pandya did NOT break rules: Sydney store owner refutes Aussie reports

The Australian media is not leaving any opportunity in defaming Indian cricketers. Firstly, five Indian cricketers (Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill, Rishabh Pant, Navdeep Saini and Prithvi Shaw) were accused by them of 'violating' Cricket Australia’s bio-secure protocols after an Indian fan posted about the same on social media. They followed it by releasing an article accusing Virat Kohli and Hardik Pandya of a bio-bubble breach as well.

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Australia store owners opens up on reports of Virat Kohli and Hardik Pandya's bio-bubble breach

According to the report, Kohli and Pandya went out shopping together. However, the incident is from December 7 and neither of them is part of India’s touring party Down Under anymore. Moreover, 20 days after the players left for India, reports emerged that the two cricketers had broken bio-secure protocols.

Now, Nathan Pongrass, the owner of Baby Village, Bondi Junction, the shop which Kohli and Pandya visited, has dismissed all the reports and stated that both Indian cricketers were extremely respectful and followed all the protocols that were in place at the time. While speaking to Australian journalist Norman Kochannek for Sports Today, Pongrass said that both the Indian players came in and spent a little bit of time in the store.

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He revealed that during the time, there were no restrictions in New South Wales. The store owner further said that they wanted to give them gifts but the cricketers wanted to pay for everything. Pongrass also lauded Kohli and Pandya saying that they were extremely generous with their time as they spent time talking with their staff. Calling the cricketers 'lovely', Pongrass stated that Kohli and Pandya were kind enough to take a couple of photos with their team.

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The store owner reiterated that their team wanted to share the experience with their family members which is why they took the photos. Speaking about sharing the photos on social media, Pongrass opined that they did it to just show that they were proud that the Indian cricketers had chosen to visit their store. He revealed that their staff was not allowed to touch them and shake hands with them.

The Australian further said that even though there were no restrictions at the time, Kohli and Pandya were very much keeping their distance. He stated that they had a very positive experience with them. Expressing regret over the matter, Pongrass reckoned that it’s a shame what has happened in the media because of it.

India vs Australia live score update

Meanwhile, having won the toss, Australia opted to bat first in the Sydney Test. Australia lost opener David Warner early on in the innings but managed to recover well. Debutant Will Pucovski and Marnus Labuschagne steadied the ship and stitched a 100-run stand before the former was dismissed. At Stumps of Day 1, Australia's scoreboard read 166/2 after 55 overs with Labuschagne batting on 67 and Smith unbeaten on 31. The hosts will want the duo to carry on and lay a solid foundation for the batters to come and score big. On the other hand, India will want to break their partnership early on Day 2 because if both of them get going, the visitors will completely be put on the backfoot.

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SOURCE: BABYVILLAGE INSTAGRAM