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On Thursday, February 29, the England Test captain, Ben Stokes, and a few of his teammates were clicked while playing golf in Chandigarh, ahead of the fifth and the final Test against India starting next week. England have already conceded the Test series 1-3 to India after succumbing to a five-wicket defeat in Ranchi a few days ago.
The likes of Ben Stokes, Ben Foakes, Mark Wood, Ollie Robinson, and Shoaib Bashir, are scheduled to be in the city for a two-day detour, to spend their time at the Chandigarh Golf Club, as per the report from the Indian Express. The rest of the England players are currently in Bengaluru before they head to Dharamshala to take part in the last Test of the series on March 7.
During the previous extended break in the series after the second Test and before the third Test, the entire England contingent went to the United Arab Emirates to recharge their batteries before taking part in the remaining matches. As per the Hindustan Times report, the Punjab Cricket Association (PCA) Vice-President, PMS Banga spoke about England players slated to play golf on Thursday and Friday at the Chandigarh Golf Club before the fifth and final Test match commences next week.
He was quoted as saying, “PCA has tied up with the Chandigarh Golf Club and arranged golf sessions for the England cricket team. The team wanted to take some time off from cricket and relax before they head to Dharamshala for the fifth Test. As of now, they don’t have any scheduled practice session at the Mohali Stadium. It depends on their will if they want to train or not. We will wait to hear from them in that regard.”
Moreover, the England players are expected to encounter the highly familiar cold weather conditions in Dharamshala, in the foothills of the Himalayas, during the last Test, beginning on March 7, at the HPCA Stadium. The temperature in the region is mostly in the single digits, accompanied by some rain and snow, during the build-up to the match.
