In Pictures: Indian men’s and women’s squads leave for England tour
The Indian men’s and women’s squads have left for the England tour. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has shared pictures of the players readying to board the flight to England on their official Twitter account.
In the pictures, the likes of Virat Kohli, Mithali Raj, Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul are seen waiting at the airport ahead of their departure for England.
The Indian men's team will begin their England tour with the World Test Championship (WTC) final against New Zealand in Southampton from June 18. They will then face England in a five-Test series, starting in Nottingham from August 4.
Upon arrival in England, the Indian men's team will proceed directly to the on-site hotel at the Hampshire Bowl, where they will be tested again before commencing a period of managed isolation, the ICC had recently informed.
The women’s team, on the other hand, will play a one-off Test apart from three ODIs and three T20Is against England from June 16 to July 15. They will also have to undergo quarantine and testing. According to reports, players from both the men’s and women’s teams are pleased with families being allowed to travel with them.
"Conditions in England as potent for us as New Zealand" - Team India skipper Virat Kohli
At a virtual press conference ahead of Team India’s departure for England, Virat Kohli asserted that his side believe they are on equal terms with New Zealand.
Some cricket experts feel New Zealand would have the edge over Team India in the WTC final as the Kiwis would have already played two Tests against England before the summit clash. Reacting to the theory, Kohli said:
“The conditions (in England) are as potent for us as New Zealand... We are going to board the flight thinking that we're on equal terms and whichever team performs well session-by-session, hour-by-hour, is going to win that championship. It's not the first time we are playing in England. (With) the hunger and desire to be there... We have no problems with having just four practice sessions going into the final. For all of us this is like an accumulation of all the hard work of the last five-six years."
After the WTC final, Team India will face England in five Tests. They have not beaten England on English soil in a Test series since 2007.
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