UK govt allows family members of Indian cricketers during England tour

The British government has given a go-ahead to the Indian men and women cricketers to have their family members accompany them during their tour of England. According to reports, the British government has approved the request for Indian players to take their family members along on the four-month-long trip to England for bilateral cricket matches. The request was made by the BCCI, asking for permission to allow players to have family members accompany them on the tour as the bubble environment can sometimes become very lonely. Both the men and the women's national cricket team members will fly together in a charter flight on Wednesday and are expected to arrive in the United Kingdom on June 3. 

India's tour of England

While the Indian men's team will play New Zealand in the final of the World Test Championship, starting June 18, the women's side will lock horns against England in a one-off Test match, three ODIs, and as many T20Is during their tour of Britain. The men's team will also play a five-match Test series against the host between August and September. Currently, both men and women team members are quarantined at a hotel in Mumbai. They will arrive in Southampton on June 3 and will undergo a 10-day isolation period before resuming training in bits and pieces. 

The International Cricket Council (ICC) has said that regular COVID-19 tests will be conducted during Team India's stay in isolation before they could resume training. ICC said that the players will be allowed to train in smaller groups initially and with more negative tests "larger group activity" will be allowed. The ICC informed that New Zealand players will be moved to the WTC bio-secure bubble on June 15, a day after the completion of their second Test match against England. 

The ICC had earlier informed that the WTC final between India and England has been granted an exemption by the British government. Passenger flights from India have been barred by the United Kingdom government keeping in mind the rising COVID-19 cases in the sub-continent and the emergence of a dangerous strain. The UK government has allowed the ICC to conduct the marquee event in England. 

(Image Credit: AP)