ENG Vs IND: Just when India is all set to play the historic one-off test match against England on July 1, bad news entered the Indian dressing room late at night.
Star off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has tested Covid-19 positive just before he was scheduled to depart for Leicester city.
With this, Tamil Nadu bowler is all set to miss the practice test match against the County Club Leicestershire starting from June 24.
Ravi Ashwin is currently in home isolation and will only join the rest of the squad once he will meet all the necessities of Covid-19 protocols required.
“Ashwin has not travelled with the squad to the UK because he has tested positive for Covid-19 before the departure,” a BCCI official told PTI.
“We are hopeful that he will recover well in time before the test match starts from July 1. However, he might miss the practice game against Leicestershire.”
This test will be an all-important encounter with WTC points at stake and this win will ensure the first-ever test series win in England after 15 years.
Meanwhile, the rest of the squad has started the preparations at the Leicester ahead of the practice game against the Leicestershire County club.
BCCI shared pictures of the players warming up and playing football while in a video shared by BCCI, captain Rohit Sharma and opener Shubman Gill were seen doing net practice.
In a statement by BCCI official, they said that with the absence of KL Rahul in the squad, skipper Rohit and Young lad Gill will open the innings for India.
Last year in the first four matches, Rohit and Rahul performed quite well while opening.
Coach Rahul Dravid with two other test team members Rishabh Pant and Shreyas Iyer have joined the rest of the squad in Leicester before the practice game.
They are coming after playing the T20I series against South Africa which remained to draw at 2-2 owing to the Bengaluru match being abandoned due to rain.
