LONDON: The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) and Cricket Australia (CA) have confirmed the Men’s and Women’s Ashes schedule for 2021-22 to be staged in Australia.

The first Men’s Ashes Test will begin at Brisbane’s Gabba from December 8-12 ahead of a day-night Test at the Adelaide Oval from December 16-20. The traditional Boxing Day and New Year’s Tests will be played at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (December 26-30) and Sydney Cricket Ground (January 5-9) respectively, with the final Test scheduled for Perth’s Optus Stadium (January 14-18), as per the ECB release.

For the first time in 26 years, the final Ashes Test will not be staged in Sydney.

The multi-format Women’s Ashes series will begin at Manuka Oval, Canberra, with the Test match from January 27-30.

The white-ball matches, which combine with the Test match to form the multi-format series, kick off with three T20Is, to be played at the North Sydney Oval, Sydney (February 4 and 6) and the Adelaide Oval (February 10).

The multi-format series concludes with three ODIs at Adelaide Oval (February 13) and the Junction Oval in Melbourne (February 16 and 19).

At the end of the Women’s Ashes series, England will depart for New Zealand to participate in the ICC Women’s World Cup in a year that will also see them represent Team England at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham.

The UK-bound cricketers have started assembling in Mumbai, and the likes of Mithali Raj, Ravichandran Ashwin, Mohammed Siraj, Mayank Agarwal, and Washington Sundar reached the destination through a charter flight.

The BCCI’s official handle tweeted pictures of these players flying to Mumbai and they captioned the post as: “First stop, Mumbai. #TeamIndia. The men’s team will leave for the UK for the upcoming World Test Championship (WTC) final against New Zealand and then the five-match Test series against England.

On the other hand, the women’s team will lock horns against England in a one-off Test, three T20Is, and three ODIs.

The BCCI had made a foolproof plan for the national team before they depart for the UK to play the World Test Championship (WTC) final against New Zealand and the five-match Test series against England.

Speaking to ANI, sources in the know of the roadmap drawn had said arrangements have been made for all the players to undergo three RT-PCR tests before assembling in Mumbai on May 19.

“The players will be undergoing three RT-PCR tests at their homes, and once they return negative tests, they will be assembling in Mumbai on May 19. Everyone in the contingent will be undergoing 14-day quarantine in India before they leave for the UK on June 2,” said the source.

Almost all the members of the Indian contingent set to depart for the UK have taken the first dose of their Covid-19 vaccine and they are likely to take the second jab in the UK itself.

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).

Wicketkeeper-batsman K.S. Bharat will be travelling to the UK with the India men’s squad for the upcoming World Test Championship (WTC) final against New Zealand and five-match Test series against England. The wicket-keeper is cover for Wriddhiman Saha who has just recovered from Covid-19. Although Saha has recovered in time to enter the bio-bubble in Mumbai before leaving for the UK on June 2, the selection committee did not take any chances and they decided to add Bharat to the group with an eye on the Covid-19 protocols and guidelines.

Speaking to ANI, sources in the know of developments said it was a precautionary step with an eye on Saha’s recovery from Covid-19.

“He was added as cover for Saha considering he was still recovering from the virus and wicket-keeping is a specialised job. If Saha wasn’t fit in time, we would have needed a second keeper in the squad for the tour which is a three-month long one,” the source said.

The BCCI had made a foolproof plan for the national team before they depart for the UK to play the World Test Championship (WTC) final against New Zealand and the five-match Test series against England.

The roadmap drawn had arrangements made for all the players to undergo three RT-PCR tests before assembling in Mumbai on Wednesday in charter planes. The Indian players will also be administered the second COVID-19 vaccine by the UK health department.

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).

South Africa head coach Mark Boucher believes AB de Villiers’’ has his reasons to decide against coming out of international retirement and represent the national team in the upcoming ICC World T20 despite being in good form.

Cricket South Africa on Tuesday announced that De Villiers has decided not to come out of international retirement, saying that his mind won’’t change “once and for all”.

His former teammate and current national coach, Boucher gave reasons behind De Villiers’’ decision, saying that he doesn’’t want to snatch the place of a player who has been in the mix for a while.

“AB has his reasons, which I respect. Unfortunately he’’s no longer in the mix. I say unfortunately because I think we all agree that he’’s still one of the best – if not the best – T20 players in world cricket,” Boucher was quoted as saying by ‘’The Citizen’’ website

“But he alluded to being concerned about coming in ahead of other players who have been a part of the system. I don’’t think it sat well with him, which I understand.

“But as a coach I needed to try and get our best players, for the team and the environment. AB is an energy-booster in any environment, but I respect his reasoning. It was worth a go, but now let’’s move forward.”

CSA’’s reportedly made the statement on Tuesday while announcing the team for a tour of the West Indies.

In May 2018, De Villiers had announced his retirement from international cricket. He played 114 Tests, 228 ODIs and 78 T20Is before announcing his surprise retirement.

However, last month the 37-year-old versatile cricketer said it would be “fantastic” to make an international comeback ahead of the ICC World T20.

The ICC World T20 is scheduled to be held in India in October-November.

“If I can slot in, it will be fantastic,” De Villiers had said after he playing match-winning innings for his franchise Royal Challengers Bangalore in the now-suspended IPL in April.

Speaking to the reporters in Chennai, De Villiers had then said he will have a chat with South Africa head coach Mark Boucher at the end of IPL 2021 while assessing his form and fitness after RCB’’s campaign in the 14th season of the T20 tournament.

The 2021 Asia Cup, which was shifted from Pakistan to Sri Lanka, was on Wednesday called off due to rising Covid-19 cases in the island nation.

The Asia Cup, which was last held in 2018, was scheduled to be held in June but Sri Lanka Cricket CEO Ashley de Silva announced that it will be difficult for them to conduct the tournament.

“Due to the prevailing situation, it will not be possible to play the tournament in June this year,” De Silva told reporters.

The tournament was supposed to be hosted by Pakistan but since India were unlikely to travel there due to political tension between the two nations, it was shifted to Sri Lanka.

With all the teams planning for their FTPs for the next two years, the continental showpiece might only find a slot after the 2023 ICC 50-over World Cup. The Asian Cricket Council headed by BCCI secretary Jay Shah is yet to make a formal announcement.

Due to multiplying cases of COVID-19, Sri Lankan government has put a 10-day ban on international air travel. Sri Lanka are touring Bangladesh for a limited overs series while they will host a second string India team for a six-match white ball series in July.

June 3: India vs Qatar (IST 10.30pm).

June 7: Bangladesh vs India (IST 7.30pm).

June 15: India vs Afghanistan (IST 7.30pm).

The 28-member squad is as follows:

GOALKEEPERS: Gurpreet Singh Sandhu, Amrinder Singh, Dheeraj Singh.

DEFENDERS: Pritam Kotal, Rahul Bheke, Narender Gehlot, Chinglensana Singh, Sandesh Jhingan, Adil Khan, Akash Mishra, Subhashish Bose.

MIDFIELDERS: Udanta Singh, Brandon Fernandes, Liston Colaco, Rowllin Borges, Glan Martins, Anirudh Thapa, Pronoy Halder, Suresh Singh, Lalengmawia Ralte, Abdul Sahal, Yasir Mohammad, Lallianzuala Chhangte, Bipin Singh, Ashique Kuruniyan.

FORWARDS: Ishan Pandita, Sunil Chhetri, Manvir Singh.Indian football team during a practice session.

A 28-member Indian National Team squad left for Doha yesterday evening for India’s three forthcoming matches in the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022, and AFC Asian Cup China 2023 Qualifiers, slated to be played from June 3 onwards.

As per the health parameters required to travel to Qatar, all the traveling players and staff should carry with them negative test results from the RTPCR tests conducted in the last 48 hours. All of them were also in isolation in the Capital under the bio bubble at the team hotel from May 15 onwards.

Stimac stated that although it is not the “ideal situation” ahead of the June Qualifiers, the Blue Tigers will be putting in “intense” sessions before their matches get underway.

“It’s not an ideal situation as we move ahead to the Qualifiers in June. Due to the pandemic, our National Camp which was slated to begin in Kolkata at the beginning of May got canceled. The pandemic also robbed us of a friendly match in Dubai,” the Head Coach maintained.

“However, we understand the magnitude of the situation, and it will have intense sessions in Doha to raise the tempo and try to get ready for the matches which starts with the one against the Asian Champions Qatar in Doha,” Stimac averred.

India are scheduled to play Asian Champions Qatar on June 3, Bangladesh on June 7, and Afghanistan on June 15 with all three matches to be played at the Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium, Doha. Among the 28 named for the camp, Glan Martins remains the sole player to have made it to a National team camp for the first-time ever.

Meanwhile, National Team Captain Sunil Chhetri expressed his relief to get back into the National team set-up. “It’s such a relief to be back in the National team squad — after all, home is where the heart is. Personally, I am eagerly looking forward to being in Doha. The last time I was in Doha, I couldn’t be a part of the match against Qatar owing to illness,” Sunil, who has 72 International goals to his name, opined.

“The matches in June are extremely tough and we need to take them one at a time. Given the fact that we don’t have much time, the preparatory camp will add immense value helping all to get together, and strike that chord ahead of the first match,” he added.

“Doha has always had an emotional connection with me. It was there that I played in the 2011 Asian Cup, and also the AFC Cup final for my club Bengaluru FC.”

The round of matches is being played in Doha in view of the COVID pandemic situation which doesn’t allow the original format of home and away matches. India are currently on 3 points from 3 matches in Group E.

The Senior National Team already had a camp earlier this year in Dubai, after the completion of the domestic season, following which, they participated in two FIFA International Friendlies against Oman and UAE.