Indian cricketers and the rest of the touring contingent have received their second jabs of vaccine and will now be going through regular testing for COVID-19 ahead of and during the much-anticipated Test series against England, mentioned Cricbuzz in a report.
The report also stated that Indian players, coaches and the travelling family members went through a round of testing on Saturday as their three-week break following the end of the World Test Championship final nears its conclusion. They’ll undergo several rounds of testing in the coming weeks till they are in England.
The idea behind tightening up the protocols and taking regular tests is to avoid an England-like situation, as observed in the last week where their first-choice squad had to entirely self-isolate after some positive cases within the camp.
The BCCI and UK’s National Health Service completed the vaccination process for all the touring Indian players and support staff, among others, on July 7 and 9. The Indian board is now leaving nothing to fate in ensuring its cricketers remain safe and sound till they are in the UK.
“Once in Durham, the Indian squad will not be put in any bubble, as has been the case in every cricket series the team has been involved in since last year.
The players have been told that it will only be a bio-secure environment with a strict advisory to maintain all the social distancing norms.”
Cricbuzz reported,
In the period spanning their pre-series camp in Chester-le-Street, Kohli and company will be playing a couple of intra-squad games scheduled on either side of a three-day warm-up match versus a Select County XI from July 20. The team will shift base to Nottingham to complete their camp ahead of the first Test in Trent Bridge, starting August 4.
