Virat Kohli's team might have lost the World Test Championship 2021 finals against New Zealand but now are trying their level best to win the five-match Test series against England. They lost to New Zealand by eight wickets. Now, as per the latest reports, the Indian team is all set to play intra-squad matches. The players are given a break of about a couple of weeks before the intra-squad game. As reported by PTI, the Indian team had asked for a few practice games before the Test series but the ECB could not go ahead with the same owing to the COVID-19 situation. Virat Kohli Suffers Another Defeat At Major ICC Tournament, Should India Consider a Change in Captaincy?

Even Virat Kohli had expressed displeasure about the same. “Due to COVID-19 protocols, they will play two intra-squad four-day matches before the first Test in August,” an ECB spokesperson told PTI. During the interview a journalist further asked if there is any chance of a game against county sides, the spokesperson said, “No”. England will play their first Test match against India on August 4, 2021.

The Indian team will assemble in London on July 14, 2021.  A BCCI official on the source anonymity also said that the domestic cricketers of England not being in a bubble is an issue for sure.  Thus, the matches in Durham will be intra-squad ones. It is further said that the Indian selector Chetan Sharma will not be travelling to England. India is currently travelling with 24 players – 20 in the official squad and four backup players.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jun 25, 2021 07:54 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).