India vs Australia: Rohit Sharma gets slammed for allegedly ordering beef and pork at Melbourne restaurant

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New Delhi, January 3: If the reports of five Indian cricketers breaching the bio-secure bubble and visiting a restaurant in Melbourne wasn't enough, Rohit Sharma, Rishabh Pant, Shubman Gill, Prithvi Shaw and Navdeep Saini are also getting trolled for the kind of food they ordered.

The image of the players, as well as the bill of the food they ordered, has raised the eyebrows of several fans in India. Fans were shocked that the Indian cricketers ordered food containing beef and pork, which is considered anti-Hindu and anti-Muslim. Many Hindus consider beef-eating as a sin, while Islam prohibits the consumption of pork.

The cricketers, especially Rohit Sharma, came under fire and fans took to their respective Twitter handles to vent their ire. The fans even took a subtle dig at BCCI secretary Jay Shah - son of BJP leader and Home Minister Amit Shah - and Sourav Ganguly - the board president.

Earlier it was reported that an Indian cricket fan - Navaldeep Singh - saw Indian cricketers at the restaurant where he was dining with his family. Instead of greeting them straightaway, Navaldeep waited in the joint till the cricketers finished their dinner, and cleared their table's bill - AUD 118 (roughly Rs 6500).

Navaldeep later took to Twitter to tell this anecdote. He said the cricketers were surprised to see that their bill was cleared and when came to know that Navaldeep had footed the bill, Rohit Sharma asked him to take the money from them. But he refused the request. They are not aware but I have paid their table bill :). Least I can do for my superstars. When they got know that I have paid the bill... Rohit Sharma said bhaji pese lelo yaar acha nai lagta... I said no sir it's on me. Pant hugged me and said photo tabhi hogi jab pese loge wapis. I said no bro not happening. Finally sabane photo khichwai :) mja aa gya yaar. Pant to my wife before leaving - Thank you bhabhi ji for the lunch," he wrote on his Twitter account.

The picture of the Indian cricketers kicked-off a massive storm for they were accused of breaching the bio-secure bubble and not following the protocols put in place due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

The BCCI later said that it is inquiring the entire episode while a board official also assured that all the five players, mired in the controversy followed the norms and maintained social distancing.

Later on Saturday (January 3), Navaldeep pushed out a clarification saying: "Pant never hugged me it was all said in excitement we maintained social distance all thru J Apologies for miscommunication @BCCI @CricketAus @dailytelegraph (sic)."

The players were put in isolation from the rest of their teammates, casting a doubt over their availability for the third Test in Sydney, starting January 7. It is now being reported that Rohit, Rishabh and Shubman will be available for the Sydney Test.