AUS vs IND: Tensions broil over Team India Brisbane boycott reports

With reports surfacing that India are discontent at the prospect of being forced into hard quarantine for the fourth Test against Australia in Brisbane, Australian captain Tim Paine reckoned that the controversial build-up could raise tensions on the field during the third Test match in Sydney.

Paine conceded that reports stating that India might not turn up to play at the Gabba has started to annoy some of the Aussie players and could result in a high-tension match when the third Test starts at the iconic Sydney Cricket Ground on Thursday.

"I think there`s a bit of tension starting to boil under the surface with a lot of unnamed sources coming out from their camp saying where they want to play the fourth test and where they don`t want to go," Paine said in his pre-match news conference.

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"I think it`s starting to grind a few people, so we`ll see how it goes."

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India have officially made no statement about the issue and on Monday, Cricket Australia boss Nick Hockley said the fourth Test is scheduled to be played in Brisbane and he has heard nothing from the Indian camp about the quarantine protocols.

However, Indian captain Ajinkya Rahane on Wednesday said that quarantine was "challenging" when life outside in Sydney was "normal". When asked about a potential Brisbane boycott, Rahane evaded the question and said that the "BCCI and team management" will take a final call.

"Quarantine life is definitely a challenge, especially we know that in Australia, in Sydney especially, the life is normal," he told reporters.

"The players are stuck in the room, which is okay. We know how to handle it, we are prepared for any kind of situation. We are not at all annoyed. We know what`s our priority here.

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"We are here to play cricket and we just want to do that. Starting from tomorrow, start well in the test match and, as a team, as a unit, we are just focused on playing some good cricket."

On the other hand, Paine said Australia would play the fourth Test anywhere in the world, even Mumbai."When you hear things like that coming, particularly from India, who we know hold a lot of power in world cricket, it`s likely that it could happen," he said.

"But we`re not too fussed. We`re not buying into where the test is being played. As far as we`re aware it is at the Gabba, but as I said in the team meeting the other day, we couldn`t care less.

"If you rang us up and said it`s in Mumbai tomorrow, we`d get on a plane and we`d go and play it. That`s the way we are looking at it."

The four-Test series is nicely locked at 1-1 after India made a cracking comeback in the Boxing Day Test. Both India and Australia would be looking to win the Sydney Test and take an unassailable 2-1 lead in the series.