England head coach Chris Silverwood is confident of having the services of ace all-rounder Moeen Ali for the series-opening Test of the four-Test series against India starting February 5 in Chennai.
Silverwood-led England squad and support staff arrived in Chennai on Wednesday (January 27) to play four Tests (February 05 - March 08), five T20Is (March 12 - 20), and 3 ODIs (March 23 – 28).
The touring squad will be quarantined at Hotel Leela Palace in Chennai for six days s per COVID-19 protocol and will be eligible to start practicing from February 2 after negative COVID-19 results.
Coming to Ali, the all-rounder had missed England’s 2-0 Test series victory in Sri Lanka after the spinner was tested positive for the COVID-19 prior to his arrival at the Sri Lanka airport in Hambantota.
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However, Moeen was released from quarantine and joined his teammates at training in Galle after serving an extended isolation period on January 16 but didn’t feature in the final Test against Sri Lanka.
As reported by ESPNcricinfo, Silverwood said: “Moeen should be available for the first Test, too. He's been through everything he needs to go through and is progressing nicely.”
Meanwhile, the England head coach is also optimistic about his wicket-keeper batsman Ollie Pope’s availability for the first Test against India in Chennai – where the two teams will play the 2nd Test too.
Pope also missed the Sri Lanka Tests having been recovering from a shoulder injury sustained in September during the home Test series against Pakistan. However, he is now recovered from the injury.
Silverwood said of Pope: “I'm hoping Ollie will be able to throw his hat in the ring for that first Test. The sooner we can get him back the better it is for us.”
Noteworthy, Ben Stokes, Rory Burns, and Jofra Archer arrived in Chennai on Monday and they have already begun their quarantine period.
(With ANI Inputs)
