IND vs ENG 2021: Team India bids farewell to Durham after two weeks of training
After playing a practice match and having a couple of training sessions in Durham, Team India have now bid farewell to the city. The contingent will now head to Trentbridge in Nottingham, the venue for the opening Test of the upcoming series.
The BCCI recently shared an update on this matter. In a post on its official Twitter handle, the BCCI thanked Durham Cricket on behalf of Team India for their amicable hospitality during the team's stay in the city. They shared the following post and captioned it:
"Thank you @DurhamCricket for having us over. We enjoyed our time here."
After arriving in Durham during the third week of July, Team India played a 3-day practice match against the County select XI. The contest ended in a draw after three days of play while Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, Ishant Sharma, and Mohammed Shami missed the game.
Rohit Sharma led the team in Kohli's absence. KL Rahul's authoritative century in the first innings while batting at No. 5 was the biggest positive for India coming out of the match.
Courtesy of that knock, Rahul staked a claim for a spot in the Indian middle-order in the upcoming series. Underfire batsmen Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane will have to put in good performances in the first couple of Tests as they now face stiff competition from the bench.
Team India's Test series against England begins on August 4
Team India will kick off the Test series on August 4 and will continue to play until September 14 on English shores. India have already lost Shubman Gill, Washington Sundar, and Avesh Khan due to injuries before the series began.
Suryakumar Yadav and Prithvi Shaw were supposed to join the squad as replacements but their arrival will be delayed as they are currently in isolation. The duo will only get permission to travel if after they return three negatives in RT-PCR tests.
Indian Squad: Rohit Sharma, Mayank Agarwal, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli (Captain), Ajinkya Rahane (vice-captain), Hanuma Vihari, Rishabh Pant (wicket-keeper), R. Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Jasprit Bumrah, Ishant Sharma, Mohd. Shami, Md. Siraj, Shardul Thakur, Umesh Yadav, KL Rahul, Wriddhiman Saha (wicket-keeper), Abhimanyu Easwaran, Prithvi Shaw, Suryakumar Yadav.
Here is the complete schedule for the India vs. England Test series:
1st Test: August (4-8) | Venue: Trent Bridge, Nottingham | Start time - 03:30 PM (IST)
2nd Test: August (12-16) | Venue: Lord's, London | Start time - 03:30 PM (IST)
3rd Test: August (25-29) | Venue: Headingley, Leeds | Start time - 03:30 PM (IST)
4th Test: September (2-6) | Venue: Kennington Oval, London | Start time - 03:30 PM (IST)
5th Test: September (10-14) | Venue: Emirates Old Trafford, Manchester | Start time - 03:30 PM (IST)