Reports: Stokes, Archer and Burns landing today; both India and England to enter bio-bubble on January 27

England stars Ben Stokes, Jofra Archer and Rory Burns are arriving in India today on a commercial flight. Joe Root's side will be in India for a long tour, comprising of four Tests, five T20Is and three ODIs. The first Test will start from February 5 in Chennai.

The rest of the English players will arrive from Colombo on either January 26 or 27 after concluding the ongoing second Test against Sri Lanka. Both India and England will have to undergo a six-day quarantine period at Chennai’s Leela Palace from January 27, before resuming training on February 2.

According to media reports, Ben Stokes, Jofra Archer and Rory Burns, who aren’t part of the Sri Lanka tour, will land either in New Delhi or Mumbai, where they will have to undergo COVID-19 testing. The trio will remain in isolation for at least six hours until their results are out. If they test negative, they will fly down to Chennai and undergo a separate quarantine before joining the rest of their teammates.

16 players 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿6 travelling reserves 🏏All the details here 👇

— England Cricket (@englandcricket) January 21, 2021

The Indians are also scheduled to check into the hotel on January 27 before undergoing the same protocols. Nick Webb, India’s strength and conditioning coach, was the first one land in the city on Friday morning. He is already self-isolating.

Chennai locals Ravichandran Ashwin, Washington Sundar, and bowling coach Bharat Arun, also touched down on Friday morning. The rest of the Indian contingent is spending time with their loved ones following a historic Test series win in Australia.

Even though the England team will come on a charter flight via anair-bubble, they too will have to undergo the same regulations as laid out for others. Around 15 local officials would also be a part of the bio-bubble. They include three liaison managers, match officials along with a minimum of three groundsmen and bus drivers.

The office-bearers of the Tamil Nadu Cricket Association (TNCA) have opted out of staying in the bio-bubble, citing administrative constraints. The two Tests at the Chepauk will be played behind closed doors, with a call on the Ahmedabad and Pune legs yet to be taken.

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Complete schedule of India v England 2021 (In IST)

1st Test: February 5-9 – MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai – 9:30 AM

2nd Test: February 13-17 – MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai – 9:30 AM

3rd Test: February 24-28 – Sardar Patel Stadium, Ahmedabad (D/N) – 2:30 PM

4th Test: March 4-8 – Sardar Patel Stadium, Ahmedabad – 9:30 AM

1st T20I: March 12 – Sardar Patel Stadium, Ahmedabad (Night) – 7:00 PM

2nd T20I: March 14 – Sardar Patel Stadium, Ahmedabad (Night) – 7:00 PM

3rd T20I: March 16 – Sardar Patel Stadium, Ahmedabad (Night) – 7:00 PM

4th T20I: March 18 – Sardar Patel Stadium, Ahmedabad (Night) – 7:00 PM

5th T20I: March 20 – Sardar Patel Stadium, Ahmedabad (Night) – 7:00 PM

1st ODI: March 23 – Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium, Pune (D/N) – 1:30 PM

2nd ODI: March 26 – Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium, Pune (D/N) – 1:30 PM

3rd ODI: March 28 – Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium, Pune (D/N) – 1:30 PM

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TEAM - Virat Kohli (Capt), Rohit Sharma, Mayank Agarwal, Shubman Gill, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya (VC), KL Rahul, Hardik, Rishabh Pant (wk), Wriddhiman Saha (wk), R Ashwin, Kuldeep Yadav, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Ishant Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah, Md. Siraj, Shardul Thakur

— BCCI (@BCCI) January 19, 2021