SCG groundsman must know TODAY if they need to save $300million Test series after India threatened to boycott the tour in Queensland following new coronavirus threat

Groundsmen at the Sydney Cricket Ground will need to know by Friday if they have to set up a backup pitch as India threaten to boycott the fourth Test at The Gabba.

The $300million Test series is at risk after tensions hit boiling point with Indian players reportedly refusing to enter hotel quarantine for a second time when they land in Brisbane ahead of the match next Friday.

Players are allowed out of their rooms but must stay within the hotel unless they are going to training or games - which is the same rules they experienced during their stay in Sydney ahead of the third Test.

Cricket Australia is reportedly waiting to receive confirmation from the Board of Control for Cricket India whether or not India will be making the trip to Queensland.

Sydney officials are now anxiously waiting to hear if they will need to produce an emergency backup strip for the match should The Gabba be scrapped altogether.

India is reportedly refusing to make the trip to Brisbane for the fourth Test at the Gabba next Friday as SCG officials race to hear if they will need to produce another pitch (pictured crowd at the Gabba in Brisbane)

SCG officials are now anxiously waiting to hear if they will need to produce an emergency backup strip for the match should The Gabba be scrapped altogether

Adam Lewis, the curator for the SCG earlier told the Daily Telegraph they could produce a second wicket by using an older strip but has since said no work was being put into making it.

Indian sources have claimed the team are waiting to receive confirmation in writing from CA that they won't be locked inside their rooms and will be able to roam around their accommodation.  

The Queensland border was expected to be opened up to Greater Sydney at the end of the week but this has since been pushed back until the end of January. 

Queensland recorded nine new Covid-19 cases in hotel quarantine and will bring in a hard lockdown to greater Brisbane after a UK strain of the virus was found.

Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk announced the new measures on Friday.

The lockdown will apply to council areas of Brisbane, Logan, Ipswich, Moreton, and Redlands.

Residents will be required to stay at home from 6pm on Friday until 6pm on Monday. 

Doubts have also now risen about whether or not the Gabba would be able to hold full capacity.

India's captain, Ajinkya Rahane, on Wednesday refused to confirm what his team would be doing in regards to the fourth Test. 

There are now fears the fourth Test will go ahead without full capacity at the Gabba due to the coronavirus outbreak. The SCG has already had capacity cut back to 25 per cent

Fans dressed up in hazmat suits are seen at the SCG ahead of the third Test match on Thursday

'We as players, we are just focusing on this Test match. The Indian team management, they will take the decisions,' Rahane said.

'For us as players, it's all about giving our best on the field.' 

The Australian captain, Tim Paine, also weighed in on the subject, admitting tensions were starting to boil.

'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. I think it's starting to grind a few people so we'll see how it goes,' he said. 

Queensland's Chief Health Officer Dr Jeanette Young previously said the teams would be allowed to mingle with each other inside the hotel but it would be the same protocols that were used for other sporting events. 

'My rules are the standard rules I've used for sporting teams right from the start, and they've worked very successfully for us, so that's what we'll continue to do,' Dr Young said on Thursday.

'That's (India agreeing to come to Brisbane) something between Cricket Australian and the Indian cricket board for them to work through.'

Both teams are expected to fly out of Sydney on Tuesday pending India's decision. 

Both Australian and Indian players are expected to be flown to Brisbane on Tuesday