SYDNEY: Many of Australian team players may not be able to play the home season-opening first Test in November if the team reaches final of the T20 World Cup since they wouldn't be able to complete the quarantine on arrival from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) by the time the Test begins.
Australia will open the season against Afghanistan in a one-off Test that begins on November 27. The T20 World Cup runs from October 17 to November 14 in the UAE. There will only be a 13-day gap between the end of the T20 World Cup and the start of the one-off Test.
Assuming Australia reach the final of the tournament, some of the top multi-format players like Pat Cummins, Steve Smith, David Warner and Mitchell Starc would still be serving their mandatory 14-day hotel quarantine period when the Test against Afghanistan begins in Hobart.
Australia play England in the Ashes which begins on December 8 at the Gabba in Brisbane.
Some of the top Aussie players have already pulled out of the white-ball series in the West Indies and Bangladesh ahead of the T20 World Cup.
The series against West Indies, which comprises five T20 Internationals and three One-day Internationals, begins on July 9 and ends on July 24. The Aussies are scheduled to tour Bangladesh in August. IANS