THE postponement of the 14th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) for an indefinite time has made the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) cautious.
Team India is scheduled to travel to England for participating in the final of the inaugural edition of the World Test Championship (WTC) from June 18 to June 22 against Southampton.

After WTC, India will be locking horns against England team for a five-match Test series, scheduled to start on August 4. BCCI doesn’t want to take any risks with WTC or England series and they are taking proper precautions for the same.

All 24 players and the support staff who are travelling to England have been given strict instructions to properly follow the bio-bubble guidelines laid out by the authorities.
The players and staff, scheduled to board the flight to England on June 2, have been asked to assemble in Mumbai on May 19. On their arrival at the BCCI camp, players will have to undergo three RT-PCR tests followed by a 14-day quarantine period.

“The players have been informed to consider their tour over if they are found positive on their arrival in Mumbai as BCCI will not arrange another charter flight for any cricketer,” News 18 quoted a source as saying.

BCCI is also working towards making arrangements for the players to get vaccinated. A lot of Indian players including the likes of captain Virat Kohli, R Ashwin, Ajinkya Rahane, Jasprit Bumrah, Ishant Sharma, Rishabh Pant, Shubman Gill, and Ravindra Jadeja, have already taken the first dose of the vaccine. The players will be in England when they will be scheduled to take the second dose of the vaccine.

Thus, BCCI has asked England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) to make arrangements for the Indian players to take the second jab in the UK. However, if the UK government refuses to make the arrangement, then the BCCI will take vaccines from India to give to the players in the allotted time.

“The Indian government has opened vaccination for every person above 18 so the players can take their first dose. But the second dose is the question here and the BCCI is looking at working closely with England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) to ensure players can get a second dose in the UK.

“If that is not approved by the UK government, we will have the vaccine taken from India for the second dose. Let’s see how that works out in the coming days,” a source close to the development said. (CricTracker)