The India team will play two intra-squad games at the Riverside Ground in Durham before the five-match Test series against England as Virat Kohli’s men are unlikely to get any warm-up first-class matches against county sides.
Having lost WTC final, India will look to bounce back in the Test series against England.
New Delhi:
India captain Kohli had expressed his displeasure at not being given any first-class games before the England series, starting on August 4 in Nottingham. “Due to COVID-19 protocols, India will play two intra-squad four-day matches before the first Test in August,” an ECB spokesperson said on Friday.
The BCCI had requested the ECB for a few practice games, but the current COVID-19 situation won’t allow any such plan to go ahead. In England, cricketers from various counties are regularly tested for COVID-19 but are not being kept in a bubble.
The India team, once it assembles in London on July 14 and moves to Durham, will once again be in a bubble. “The domestic cricketers of England not being in a bubble is an issue. That is why the games in Durham will be intra-squad ones,” said a BCCI official. India is currently travelling with 24 players – 20 in the official squad and four reserves – which will allow it to play intra-squad games.
Selectors’ chairman not going to England
Chairman of national selectors Chetan Sharma and another senior selector Sunil Joshi will not be going to England for the five-match Test series as strict quarantine rules have become an impediment.
“Yes, Debasish Mohanty and Abbey Kuruvilla are going to Sri Lanka, where the white-ball squad will play six games. They are in quarantine at the Mumbai hotel along with the rest of the team. But no selector is travelling to the UK,” a BCCI source informed.
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