The Virat Kohli led Indian cricket team finally got into the groove at the Riverside Stadium in Durham. The team had reached here on July 14 itself and since then were raring to go; also, this is the first time the players are training together after the WTC Final loss against New Zealand. Meanwhile for a whole month or so, the team was enjoying their off time in England. The BCCI posted a few pictures on social media.
pic.twitter.com/lQcYxR6Ftw— BCCI (@BCCI) July 17, 2021
Virat Kohli, KL Rahul, Cheteshwar Pujara and Rohit Sharma were seen having a great time at the nets; meanwhile the bowlers: Ravi Ashwin, Mohammed Siraj, Ishant Sharma and Mohammed Shami too were seen having a go at the nets.
The team will be up against Warwickshire in the county game which begins on July 20 on this venue. Will Rhodes will lead a 14-man squad which also includes recent Test debutant James Bracey and Nottinghamshire opener Haseeb Hameed, who made his Test debut against India in 2016.
“The squad was selected after consulting with the first-class counties on player availability and to provide some of the high-potential talent from across the county game with the opportunity to test themselves against the ICC World Test Championship finalists," said ECB in an official statement.
Pant Absent, Whose IN?
Even before the three-week break of the Indian cricketers had started post the WTC final, many experts had speculated that the players might be in danger of catching Covid-19. And this is exactly what has happened now. Wicket-keeper Rishabh Pant had tested positive and is in isolation, and so is Wriddhiman Saha.
Although it is impossible to track the source of the infection, it is believed that a recent visit to a dentist could be the place where Pant got infected. Now the keeper has been in quarantine for the last eight days after testing positive on July 8. As per a report in Times of India, Pant had visited the dentist on July 5 and 6.
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