Team India on their way to London, vacation mode on until July 14 [Exclusive]

After losing out on the World Test Championship (WTC) title yesterday, Team India are on their way to London to be out in the open, away from bubble life, for close to 20 days. Their next assignment is a five-Test series against England starting on August 4.

A 24-member squad had touched down in the UK on June 3, out of which 15 players stayed at the Hilton at the Ageas Bowl in Southampton until the end of the six-day summit clash that saw New Zealand emerge victorious by eight wickets.

The Southampton cohort – 15 players, support staff, and their families – are currently on the road to the London hotel, which the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has booked for the team.

However, sources close to the Indian team confirmed to Sportskeeda that the players have been given a free license until July 14. While the board will foot the bill for their London accommodation, players and support staff will also be allowed to travel to other parts of the country at their own expense.

According to sources, since most of the members are with their families, they want to maximise the upcoming 20-day window and travel around the UK, with some of them keen on visiting Scotland. They will once again assemble in Durham on July 14, to prepare for the Test series before travelling to Nottingham for the first match.

No training sessions or intra-squad matches have been scheduled until then. All the players, however, have been given individual programs to follow at the gym.

Covid-19 cases are again on the rise in the UK, with the nation reporting 15,882 positive cases on June 23, according to worldometers.info. While people are still leading a normal life there, the Indian team will have to undergo Covid-19 tests and mostly a brief quarantine period upon entering the bio-bubble on July 14.

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Full schedule and squad for India tour of England 2021 (Timings in IST)

1st Test: August 4-8 – Trent Bridge, Nottingham – 3:30 PM

2nd Test: August 12-16 – Lord’s, London – 3:30 PM

3rd Test: August 25-29 – Headingley, Leeds – 3:30 PM

4th Test: September 2-6 – Kennington Oval, London – 3:30 PM

5th Test: September 10-14 – Old Trafford, Manchester – 3:30 PM

India squad: Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill, Mayank Agarwal, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli (captain), Ajinkya Rahane (vice-captain), Hanuma Vihari, Rishabh Pant (wicket-keeper), R. Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Jasprit Bumrah, Ishant Sharma, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj, Shardul Thakur, Umesh Yadav, KL Rahul, Wriddhiman Saha

Standby players: Abhimanyu Easwaran, Prasidh Krishna, Avesh Khan, Arzan Nagwaswalla