The Board of Control for Cricket in India has come up with its plans to get the Indian cricket team ready for its sojourn to England which will include a total of six Tests being played over the course of almost three months. The Board is considering allowing families of the players to travel to England as well. Indian players selected for the tour along with the four standbys would get into a pre-tour bubble, which would be created on May 25 in India only.
"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 just involve testing against COVID-19, but also there will not be any movement as the boys prepare for the UK schedule," an official close to BCCI was quoted as saying to ANI.
On reaching England on June 2, the team would further undergo 10-day quarantine, only this time they would be allowed to train as the simultaneous testing continues. The Indian team will face New Zealand in the World Test Championship Final from June 18 onwards at Rose Bowl, Southampton.
Reasoning that the players’ movement in England would be restricted and the stay is very long, the official felt that’s why the families need to travel with players. "The Covid-19 restrictions also mean you cannot move around the place,” he said. “There will be more than a month`s gap between the Test Championship final and the opening Test against England in Trent Bridge from August 4," the official added.
The board is also concerned about the vaccination of the players and feels that at least the first dose of vaccine can be administered to the Men in Blue. "The Indian government has opened vaccination for every person above 18 so the players can take their first dose,” said the official.
But with the second dose in question, BCCI is looking at working closely with the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) to ensure that a path is created to administer the second does to Indian players in the UK.
“Players can get a second dose in the UK if that is not approved by the UK government, we will have the vaccine taken from India for the second dose. Let`s see how that works out in the coming days," he said.