England-bound cricketers to assemble in Mumbai soon for quarantine

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New Delhi, May 12 (IANS) Members of the Indian cricket team could assemble in Mumbai either on May 19 or May 24 to undergo quarantine before their departure to England on June 2 by a charter flight.

There has been a talk of the players assembling in Mumbai on May 19 and serving a two-week long quarantine period. But it has been learnt that the Indian cricket board is also mulling an option of having players in Mumbai on May 24 for a week-long quarantine in a Mumbai hotel.

"The two dates are being discussed and final decision will be taken in the next few days," said a source in the know of things.

The team will travel on a charter flight. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is may also get the players tested at their homes.

The India players and staff will also have to undergo quarantine for 10 days after arrival in England since India is in the 'red' list of Covid-affected countries. They will have to undergo tests during the quarantine, including on or after the eighth day of quarantine.

Virat Kohli's team then get about four days of practice ahead of the World Test Championship (WTC) final against New Zealand, starting on June 18 in Southampton.

The team will stay on for one-and-a-half months without any competitive matches before the five-Test series against England gets underway on August 4 and lasts till September 14.

As per the plans, the team will have two four-day intra-squad practice matches only and no warm-up games with any county team due to the strict bio-bubble norms.

The venues for the intra-squad practice matches will be announced soon.

The WTC final takes place in Southampton while the Test matches will be played in Nottingham, London (Lord's and Oval), Leeds and Manchester.

--IANS

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