MUMBAI: Team India will fly to the UK in the first week of June, shortly after the conclusion of the 2021 edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) on May 30, to participate in the final of the ICC World Trials Championship and undergo a 14-day quarantine, similar to the one they did in Australia.
The Ageas Bowl in Southampton is the preferred venue for the final given the Hilton hotel within the stadium premises. TOI understands that the England Cricket Board, which has hosting rights, has locked down the entire hotel between June 1 and June 26 and is working together with the ICC to create the biosecurity bubble. The ICC has also decided to keep a reserve day for the Test Match, although the conditions of play for the final have not yet been published. Considering England’s delicate weather, the governing body wants to ensure that there is an extra day in case the rain is absent with the Test. The Ageas Bowl has a capacity of 25,000 people.
The Indian team has said yes to a 14-day quarantine, in principle, with changes to be agreed at a later stage, as the situation regarding Covid changes. “It will be mainly on the Australian tour lines, where the first three or five days will be in strict isolation, after which the teams will be able to train while in quarantine,” those with knowledge of the developments said.
the WTC Final It will begin on June 18 and end on June 22, if it lasts for five days.
“BCCI has taken the call not to ask players to return to India after the WTC final. The idea is to stay there and acclimatize to the conditions before Testing begins,” the sources said.
India will remain in England until the start of the test series. They will return to India in August to play a white ball series against South Africa, followed by a white ball series against New Zealand. The T20 World Cup will start in October and conclude in November, after which India and New Zealand will play a test series here at home and then India will head to South Africa, towards the end of December, for a full-blown tour.
In such a scenario, if the Asian Cricket Council (ACC), led by Jay Shah, goes ahead with the Asian Cup this year, then it is clear that the key players will not be available.
Asia Cup is proposed for the end of June, the second team is likely to be
Postponed last year due to the pandemic, the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) is now proposing that the Asia Cup be held at the end of June in Sri Lanka. It was learned that senior BCCI officials have locked themselves in a meeting with the ACC to confirm the window and the tournament.
If the Asian Cup goes ahead, BCCI is ready to send a second-row team to the tournament, as the key players of the Indian team will be in England, after the WTC final, preparing for the test series there. The likes of virat Kohli, Rohit sharma, Rishabh trousers, Jasprit bumrah, Hardik pandya -among others- he will not play the white ball tournament that will be played in the Twenty20 format this year.
“There is no other option. We cannot risk preparing for the series in England. And cricketers cannot self-quarantine twice. If the Asia Cup takes place, India will have no choice but to send a second-rate team. row, “added confirmed sources.
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