India tour of England: R Ashwin is currently in quarantine after having tested Covid-19 positive. The off-spinner is likely to miss India’s practice match against Leicestershire, starting June 24.
R Ashwin’s England departure delayed after testing Covid-19 positive (PTI Photo)
HIGHLIGHTS
- India’s Test specialist left for England on June 16 from Mumbai
- R Ashwin did not travel with the rest of the Test squad
- India take on England in a rescheduled Test from July 1
India off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin missed the plane to England after testing positive for Covid-19. Ashwin did not travel with the rest of the Test specialists who left for England on June 16.
R Ashwin is currently in quarantine even as India’s Test stars have begun training in Leicestershire County Ground where they will play a 4-day practice match from June 24. India will take on England in the rescheduled 5th Test from last year’s series from July 1 in Edgbaston, Birmingham.
Ashwin will travel to England but only after completing all necessary protocols, according to a Press Trust of India report. Notably, a majority of the Test specialists left for England from Mumbai on June 16 while skipper Rohit Sharma joined his teammates in England a day later.
Rishabh Pant and Shreyas Iyer, who were part of the South Africa T20I series at home, left for England on Monday, June 19 after the 5th and final T20I in Bengaluru was washed out due to rain on Sunday.
Ashwin is likely to miss the 4-day practice match against Leicestershire from Friday but is likely to be available for the rescheduled 5th Test.
“Ashwin hasn’t travelled with the squad to the UK as he tested positive for Covid-19 before departure,” PTI quoted a BCCI source as saying.
“But we are hopeful that he will recover well in time before the Test match starts on July 1. However, he might miss the practice game against Leicestershire.”
Ashwin, who featured in the Indian Premier League 2022 final for Rajasthan Royals last month, played TNCA Division 1 league cricket in Chennai after exiting the IPL bio-bubble.
Notably, the India off-spinner did not play a single match on their tour of England last year despite traveling with the squad.
India players began training in London before moving their base to Leicestershire wherein they will spend the rest of the week. Notably, skipper Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill were seen hitting the nets at the county ground on Monday.
There are no bio-bubble restrictions enforced by the England and Wales Cricket Board for the series at a time when the sport is heading towards normalcy. Notably, the ECB has not put in place bio-bubbles for the ongoing Test series against world champions New Zealand as well.