The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has reportedly informed India’s England Test tour-bound players to consider their tour over if they are found COVID-19 positive on their arrival in Mumbai before their departure to the United Kingdom for the Test assignments.
The BCCI has recently announced a 20-member squad for the ICC World Test Championship final against New Zealand and a five-match Test series against England next month.
The Indian cricket team is expected to depart for the England tour on June 2 with the WTC Final to be held on June 18 in Southampton followed by the Test series against England from August 4.
It is being said that the Indian squad has been strictly asked to isolate themselves till the time they assemble in Mumbai and board flight to England and if they test positive for Coronavirus, they can consider their tour over as BCCI will not arrange another charter flight for the infected ones.
According to The Indian Express, a BCCI source close to the development revealed: “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.”
The Indian players, who have the option to reach Mumbai either by car or flight from various parts of the country, were also asked to vaccinate themselves with the first dose of Covishield – a variant of AstraZeneca which is available in England.
With the BCCI allowing families to accompany the players for the almost three-and-a-half month-long tour of England, they will undergo RT-PCR tests twice – upon landing in Mumbai and a final one before they enter their hotel to ensure they are not infected by the deadly virus.
Another source told The Daily, “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.”
Here’s the Team India squad for England tour:
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
