Team India off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has not traveled to the United Kingdom with his teammates after testing positive for COVID-19, a BCCI source told news agency PTI on Monday (June 20). Ashwin is currently in quarantine and will join the team only after fulfilling all protocol requirements.
The Indian team left for the UK on 16 June. “Ashwin has not traveled to UK with the squad as he has tested positive for COVID 19 before departure. But we are hopeful that he will be fine before the Test match which starts on July 1.
“However, he may miss the warm-up match against Leicestershire,” the source said.
The rest of the team is already in Leicester and has started training under the supervision of bowling coach Paras Mhambrey and batting coach Vikram Rathor. Rahul Dravid, Rishabh Pant and Shreyas Iyer have reached London after finishing their T20 match against South Africa and will travel to Leicester on Tuesday. The Ireland-bound team, led by VVS Laxman, will leave for Dublin on June 23 or 24 as the team members have been given three days’ rest.
Greetings from Leicester and we will have a training base for a week @leicsccc #teamindia pic.twitter.com/MAX0fkQcuc— BCCI (@BCCI) 20 June 2022
Indian cricketers, including captain Rohit Sharma and opener Shubman Gill, performed in the nets here on Monday ahead of the fifth and final Test against England starting July 1.
Rohit and Gill are likely to open the innings for India in Tests and both got into the groove to sharpen their skills during the practice session at the Leicestershire County Ground. Rohit, who was rested for the T20I series against South Africa at home, defended a few deliveries on the front foot while also playing pull shots against short deliveries. Gill was also seen working on his game during the batting session.
India will be here for a week and will play Leicestershire in a four-day warm-up match from June 24. The pairing of Rohit and KL Rahul was instrumental in India taking a 2-1 lead in the Test series in England. Last year’s final match was abandoned due to the outbreak of COVID-19.
Rahul will miss the tour though This time due to a back injury that ruled him out of the series against South Africa. His absence opened the doors for Gill to India.
(with PTI input)