India Tour of England – BCCI Warns Players: Writhing in pain because of postponement of IPL 2021 in middle of the season, BCCI has issued a warning for the Indian squad preparing for World Test Championship Finals and England Tour. According to a report by the Indian Express, the board has warned its England-bound players that if they test positive after landing in Mumbai, they can consider themselves out of the trip.
“The players have been informed to consider their tour over if they are found positive on their arrival in Mumbai as BCCI will not arrange another charter flight for any cricketer,” a source in the Indian board told the newspaper.
India Tour of England – BCCI Warns Players: “The players, support staff and families will be tested and two negative reports are required before they leave for Mumbai. It will be done in order to ensure that they are coming into the bubble without any infection. The players have also been given the option to travel by air or car to reach Mumbai. For vaccination, BCCI has informed the players to take Covishield which they can get in England, and not Covaxin,” the BCCI source informed.
The Indian team is scheduled to fly out on June 2 to play the World Test Championship final against New Zealand, followed by a five-Test series against England.
ICC WTC Final: BCCI instructs players to enter bio-bubble by May 19 in Mumbai
ICC WTC Final – India vs New Zealand: The board has also asked Virat Kohli to enter the bio-bubble by May 19. The 8 to 12 days of bubble will be set up in Mumbai, following which the Indian team will leave for Southampton for the showcase event from June 18.
“We have been asked to arrive in Mumbai by May 19 and enter the bio-bubble. Of course, it’s tentative and we will get final confirmation soon,” a player who is part of the squad told InsideSport on Monday.
Also Read: ICC WTC Final: BCCI instructs players to enter bio-bubble by May 19 in Mumbai
According to a BCCI official, the bio-bubble is being set up in India to avoid hard quarantine in the United Kingdom.
India Tour of England: BCCI warns players, ‘consider your tour over if you test Covid-19 positive’
“There are a lot of players who have been in bubbles and quarantines for eight-nine months now. It is likely to take a toll on them mentally. They are fine with getting into a bubble early in India and then the BCCI may offer a bubble-to-bubble movement scenario. But the negotiation will be tougher this time since the team will be leaving from India unlike from Dubai when they toured Australia,” BCCI source told InsideSport.
India is currently red-listed by the UK government due to the Covid-19 situation in the country. Any foreigner who enters UK borders will have to go through 14-days isolation. BCCI is currently in talks with England and Wales Cricket Board to reduce the two-week quarantine. With players under bio-bubble in India, BCCI wants the quarantine to be reduced to seven days in the UK.
The board has also asked the team members to take the first jab of the Covishield vaccine in India and BCCI will arrange for their second doses in England. As the AstraZeneca vaccine available in England is a version of Covishield, the BCCI can make the second dose available for its players there.
ICC WTC Final – Ind vs NZ: India picks 20-member squad
India has picked a 24-men squad — 20 main team, 4 standbys — for the long season in the UK which would end on September 14 after the five-Test series against England.
Wriddhiman Saha, KL Rahul and Prasidh Krishna have also been picked despite not being completely fit. The trio is running against the time to be available for selection. While Rahul underwent appendicitis surgery, Saha and Krishna tested positive for Covid-19 As per the BCCI statement their selection be subject to fitness clearance.
India Tour of England – Team India’s Squad for WTC Finals & 5 Match Test Series vs England
India’s squad: Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill, Mayank Agarwal, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli (Captain), Ajinkya Rahane (vice-captain), Hanuma Vihari, Rishabh Pant (wicket-keeper) R. Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Jasprit Bumrah, Ishant Sharma, Mohd. Shami, Md. Siraj, Shardul Thakur, Umesh Yadav, KL Rahul (subject to fitness clearance), Wriddhiman Saha (wicket-keeper; subject to fitness clearance).
Standby players: Abhimanyu Easwaran, Prasidh Krishna, Avesh Khan, Arzan Nagwaswalla
India Tour of England – Team India’s first stop will be in Southampton where they play New Zealand to decide the first champion of the Test format. Following their 3-1 win against England at home, India finished as the No. 1 side with 72.2 percentage points and booked their place in the final.
