Indian cricketers will undergo an eight-day hard quarantine period in Mumbai before leaving on June 2 for a marathon tour of England.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced a 20-member squad for the tour of England on May 7. India will be playing the World Test Championship final against New Zealand from June 18 to June 22 at the Ageas Bowl, followed by a five-match Test series against England starting from August 4.
Indian members will assemble on May 25 in a bio-bubble created by BCCI in India, where players will undergo eight days of hard quarantine. The BCCI plans to airlift the players from one bubble to another in England after the completion of 8-day hard quarantine. The players will have to go another 10 days of isolation after landing in England. The BCCI is still carrying out negotiations regarding the duration of the soft quarantine where training will be allowed.
“You can expect the boys to come into the bubble on May 25, as it will be an 8-day quarantine period which will not involve just testing against COVID-19, but also there will not be any movement as the boys prepare for the UK schedule. Once in the UK on June 2, the boys will go for another 10-day quarantine,”
“But this time the cricketers can train, as they’ll be moving in a charter plane from a bubble in India to a bubble in England. A bubble-to-bubble move lets them train even though there will be continuous testing at all times and no further movement,”
a BCCI official quoted as per Sportskeeda.
After completing 10-day quarantine, Indians will be allowed to move around the city from June 13, with the WTC final starting five days later.
The BCCI is confident that all the players will get their first dose of vaccine before leaving for their journey to the UK. However, Prasidh Krishna’s case could be complicated, who has tested positive after coming in contact with Varun Chakravarthy to get vaccinated before leaving for the UK.
“You have a gap between the time you test negative for COVID-19 and get your vaccination. So even if Prasidh tests negative by May 18th or 20th, he would need a four week gap before he gets his first dose,”
the source said.
BCCI’s idea is that if all Indian players get Covishield vaccine in India, it would be easier to get the second jabs in the UK as it’s the Oxford vaccine.
Families to accompany Indian Players
India’s tour of England is a three-month-long marathon tour. After the WTC final, India will have over a month of the off period where they will have to stay in the bio-secure bubble. The month-long gap has meant the board has given a green signal to the players to have their families on tour.
“Not just the duration of the tour, the COVID-19 restrictions also mean you cannot move around the place. There will be more than a month’s gap between the Test Championship Final and the opening Test against England at Trent Bridge from August 4. The players will have their families traveling with them,”
the BCCI official confirmed.
However, it is still not clear whether the WAGs and children will join the group from the start of the tour or come after the WTC final, where there is a big gap before the start of the Test series against England.
BCCI president Sourav Ganguly and secretary Jay Shah both are expected to be there at Southampton for the WTC final. They could have some discussions with ECB brass regarding the option of hosting the remainder of IPL in the United Kingdom apart from various ICC policy decisions.
