According to the recent reports, Team India will be playing a warm-up game from July 20 to 22 against a team that is being arranged by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) after a request from the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). Speaking to ANI, sources close to the board said that the team who will be facing Virat Kohli and his men is yet to be decided, but there will be a warm-up game once the team is back from the 20-day break they were given after the World Test Championship final.
The source elaborated, “The BCCI made a request to the ECB for a warm-up game and it will be played from July 20 to 22. The squad will be decided soon.”
With Team India having the requirement of playing a practice game rather than two intra-squad games before the series gets underway, the BCCI had a chat with ECB, and the same has been worked out.
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While speaking to the media at the virtual press conference after the World Test Championship final against New Zealand, Kohli had said his team wanted first-class games ahead of the series against England, but they have not been given that.
Virat Kohli had said, “Well, that doesn’t depend on us. We obviously wanted first-class games, which I believe have not been given to us. I don’t know what the reasons for that are. But yeah, other than that I think our preparation time will be ample for us to be ready for the first Test.”
Meanwhile, the young Indian opener Shubman Gill has been ruled out for eight weeks after he suffered a shin injury after the final encounter at Ageas Bowl in Southampton. Teh veteran fast bowler, Ishant Sharma had also got three stitches on his bowling hand while stopping a ball during the WTC final. But the pacer is set to be fit in time for the England Tests.
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While the Indian cricketers are currently enjoying the break, they are set to return to the bubble for the five-Test series against England around July 14.
