Picture Credit: BCCI
With the Indian Premier League (IPL) suspended indefinitely, the focus of the Indian cricket fans has surely shifted towards the ICC World Test Championship (WTC) final, set to happen in Southampton next month. India are set to take on New Zealand for the summit clash in the inaugural cycle of the Championship. While Indian players and IPL-contracted Kiwi stars were expected to travel together to England for the WTC final after the IPL, the suspension of the tournament means India will now depart early.
Prior to the departure, it is now being reported that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has asked Virat Kohli and his England bound players to enter the bio-bubble by May 19. The eight-day bubble will be set up in Mumbai, following which the Indian team will leave for United Kingdom.
“We have been asked to arrive in Mumbai by May 19 and enter the bio-bubble. It’s still tentative and we will get final confirmation soon,” a player who is part of the squad was quoted as saying by Inside Sport.
Bio-bubble being set up to avoid hard quarantine
Meanwhile, a separate media report claims that the bio-bubble is being set up to avoid hard quarantine after reaching in England. The same was confirmed by a BCCI official.
"There are a lot of players who have been in bubbles and quarantines for eight-nine months now. It is likely to take a toll on them mentally. They are fine with getting into a bubble early in India and then the BCCI may offer a bubble-to-bubble movement scenario. But the negotiation will be tougher this time since the team will be leaving from India unlike from Dubai when they toured Australia," the source was quoted by Times of India.
