IND vs ENG Series: Virat Kohli-led Team India kicked off the first outdoor session at the Chepauk Stadium ahead of the opening Test against England, kick begins on Monday (February 5). After completing the 6-day mandatory quarantine, the entire squad is gearing up for Chennai Test and being seen practicing in nets. Some Indian players including speedster Bumrah along with local boy Ashwin, who missed the historic Gabba Test due to injury, have also returned to the squad.
Virat Kohli and co have cleared their Covid tests, with no positives, they were out on the park at Chepauk. The Board of Control for Cricket in India took to social media to post some pictures from India's first outdoor session in Chennai. "Out and about at The Chepauk after 6 days of quarantine," BCCI captioned the Twitter post. Take a look at some pictures shared by the BCCI from their official Twitter handle;
The likes of Rohit Sharma and Washington Sundar could also be seen practicing. "Out and about at The Chepauk after 6 days of quarantine," was the caption on the four photographs shared by the BCCI.
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The Tests, ODIs and T20Is will be played in secure bio-bubbles across the three cities of Chennai, Ahmedabad, and Pune. The first two Tests will be held in Chennai with a 50 percent crowd allowed for the second encounter. While Ahmedabad's renewed Motera Stadium will host the final two Tests.
India beat England 4-0 the last time England toured India Down Under. But the English will be confident as they are heading into the clash on the back of the last four back to back series wins.
Their opponent, England, on the other hand, beat West Indies and Pakistan at home once cricket reopened after the COVID-19 outbreak. The English side also whitewashed Sri Lanka by 2-0 in the recently concluded series. This will boost Joot Root's side confidence of performing well in the sub-continent region as well.
Team India squad for first two Tests: Virat Kohli (Captain), Rohit Sharma, Mayank Agarwal, Shubman Gill, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane (Vice-captain), KL Rahul, Hardik Pandya, Rishabh Pant, Wriddhiman Saha, R Ashwin, Kuldeep Yadav, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Ishant Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Shardul Thakur