After the postponement of IPL 2021, all the eyes are now at the World Test Championship (WTC) final between India and New Zealand in Southampton from June 18-22.

According to a TOI report, the jumbo squad of over 25 players is likely to be named on Friday (May 7).

The report also suggests that the women's squad for the tour of England will also be picked and both the teams will travel together.

Moreover, the BCCI reportedly wants a bit of relaxation in the mandatory two weeks of hard quarantine upon landing in England and looking to create a bubble in India before the team's departure.

"The idea is to get the players to quarantine in India itself. The team anyway is likely to travel in charter flight since there are travel restrictions in UK," a BCCI source told TOI on Thursday (May 6).

In order to acclimatize to the English conditions before the final, Team India would need extensive training and, thus, the players are willing to get into the bubble in India itself to avoid prolonged isolation in UK.

"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," the source said.

"This will also give them some more time with their families. And mind you, there is a long season coming till the T20 World Cup in November. If the IPL happens in the window between the Test series in England and the T20 World Cup, it's going to be a very long time in a bubble for the Indian players," the source further stated.

If the Indian board manages to persuade the International Cricket Council (ICC) and the authorities in UK, then the players possibly will assemble between May 21 to 24.

(With TOI inputs)