The Indian skipper, Virat Kohli has finally commenced the practice session for the upcoming four-match Test series against England and took to social media to share pictures from training sessions. “Good to be back,” wrote Kohli, who returns to the team and captaincy duty after paternity leave.
In Kohli’s absence, Ajinkya Rahane had led the team in the last three Tests in Australia where the Indian team pulled off a historic 2-1 win in the Border-Gavaskar trophy. The England series begins on February 5 with the first Test in Chennai. Players of the Indian squad tested negative for COVID-19 and completed their quarantine on Monday. Subsequently, they started their training at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in the evening.
On Tuesday, India players had witnessed the first net session after the completion of their quarantine where head coach Shastri and Kohli were seen addressing the team huddle. The second Test of the series will also be played in Chennai from February 13 and that game is likely to have fans at the stadium in a limited capacity.
ALSO READ: Shikhar Dhawan Shares Some Fun Time With Akshay Kumar
Earlier on Monday, the Indian cricketers managed to take the field for the first time after completing their quarantine and returning negative COVID-19 tests. Virat Kohli, Mohammed Siraj, Ishant Sharma, Rohit Sharma, R Ashwin, Washington Sundar, Jasprit Bumrah, and Axar Patel among others were seen warming up last evening.
The second Test will have 50 per cent crowd attendance, Tamil Nadu Cricket Association (TNCA) secretary RS Ramasaamy told news agency ANI on Monday. Talking about the same, Ramasaamy had said, “We have spoken to the BCCI, we will get official approval for 50 per cent fans by today evening.”
ALSO READ: Sachin Tendulkar Shares A Golding Session With Yuvraj Singh
The Tests will be followed by a five-match T20I series – all in Ahmedabad at the new Motera Stadium – and three ODIs in Pune. The England team completed their quarantine as well on Monday and all players returned negative results. They have commenced their training as a group on Tuesday.
