India vs Australia | Nathan Lyon says team is preparing with Brisbane Test in mind

Melbourne, January 4: Australia spinner Nathan Lyon on Monday (January 4) said there has been no official confirmation from Cricket Australia regarding the fourth Test against India at Brisbane and he is looking forward to playing his 100th match in the longest format at the Gabba.

Australia and India will face each other in the third Test at the Sydney Cricket Ground from January 3 and then both sides will travel to Brisbane for the fourth Test, set to begin from January 15.

However, as per a report in Cricbuzz, India had expressed their unwillingness to travel to Brisbane for the fourth Test if they are confined to their hotel rooms when they are not playing or training.

"To be honest, I am not thinking about plan B or not playing at the Gabba. I for 100 per cent think that we are going to Brisbane for the fourth Test and we are preparing for that. Regarding quarantine protocols, I know that people from both the groups have been in a bubble for next to six months now, but in my eyes, it is a very small sacrifice for us to play the game that we love and put a smile on the faces of people throughout the world," said Lyon while replying to an ANI query during a virtual press conference.

"In my eyes, we just have to suck it up and get on with it and play cricket for our respective countries and it is on us to make sure that we are playing a competitive brand of cricket," he added.

When quizzed further about the Brisbane Test, Lyon said: "100 per cent planning on going to Brisbane, we have heard nothing as players and we are sticking with plan A. We are travelling to Sydney today and hopefully, we will get the result there that we are after and then we plan to head to Brisbane.

"To be honest, I am not really worried about what's being reported, it is for us to worry about what we can control, it's just about us making sure that we are very well prepared, everyone keeps on talking about Brisbane Test, but there is a massive Test ahead of that in Sydney in just a couple of days and that's where our focus lies for now."

Cricket Australia on Saturday said that Rohit Sharma, Rishabh Pant, Shubman Gill, Prithvi Shaw, and Navdeep Saini have been put in isolation as a precautionary measure after these five players were seen eating at an indoor venue in Melbourne on New Year's Day.

"To be honest with you, it has all been okay in my eyes, we just need to suck it up and get on with it, people make mistakes and we get that, it is about making sure what's happening and be prepared for the next Test, we need to listen to the advice of the medical people, to be honest with you, just suck it up and get on with it, and stop complaining," said Lyon.