England cricket team to bring their own chef during five-Test tour of India
With the five-Test tour of India coming up, the England cricket team has decided to take their own chef to the sub-continent nation to avoid the risk of their players falling ill.
According to The Telegraph, their chef will join the squad in Hyderabad before the start of the 1st Test on 25 January. The Englishmen had taken a chef to Pakistan during their historic tour in December 2022, but some members of the contingent had still fallen ill on the eve of the opening Test in Rawalpindi.
According to the report, the visitors have also insisted that they trust the hosts to provide clean facilities but stressed the need for nutritious meals instead of spicy food. Omar Meziane is set to travel with the national cricket team and currently works for the English football club Manchester United.
Coach Brendon McCullum has reportedly signed off on the decision and the ECB will pay for the chef's services. While it is common for football and rugby teams to take a chef of their own during overseas trips, England are the first team to do so in cricket.
England's Squad: Ben Stokes, Rehan Ahmed, James Anderson, Gus Atkinson, Jonny Bairstow, Shoaib Bashir, Harry Brook, Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ben Foakes, Tom Hartley, Jack Leach, Ollie Pope, Ollie Robinson, Joe Root and Mark Wood
England hope to end India's juggernaut on home soil:
The five-Test series looms as a litmus test for Ben Stokes, who is yet to lose a series since succeeding Joe Root as captain in May 2022. The last tours of India have been a forgettable one for the Englishmen, losing 4-0 and 3-1.
However, they were also the last team to defeat India in a series on home soil when Alastair Cook's men registered a historic series win in 2012. They played their most recent Test series against Australia on home soil, with the five-Test rubber ending 2-2. However, the tourists retained the Ashes urn as Pat Cummins' men were its original holders.