Members of the England cricket group and assistance employees landed in Chennai on Wednesday ahead of the 4-match Test series against India. The very first two Tests of the 4-match series will be played at the MA Chidambaram Stadium when Ahmedabad will host the remaining two games. News agency ANI posted some photographs from the Chennai airport. In the pictures, England players and employees members can be noticed wearing masks and undergoing COVID-19 tests.
Tamil Nadu: England Cricket group and employees arrive at Chennai Airport. The very first Test of the 4-match series involving India and England will commence on 5th February at MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai. #INDvENG pic.twitter.com/NpWLJPIcnn
— ANI (@ANI) January 27, 2021
Most of the Test mainstays for England, which includes the likes of Stuart Broad and Jos Buttler, boarded a flight straight from Sri Lanka right after sweeping the two-match Test series.
Both teams are coming into the series, fresh of overseas wins. India, regardless of losing most of their Test mainstays due to injuries, managed to script a memorable series win Down Under.
On the other hand, England, thanks to some sublime batting from their skipper Joe Root, produced light work of Sri Lanka.
Root smashed 426 runs in 4 innings, which includes a double-century in the very first Test in Galle.
England opted to continue with their rotation policy and as a outcome the guests rested Jonny Bairstow and Sam Curran for the very first two Tests against India.
The England choice panel was heavily criticised by former cricketers for their move to rest star players for a large series in India.
However, England’s head coach Chris Silverwood defended the choice and mentioned that they have to appear right after their players.
“I’m perfectly happy with the system we’re using at the moment. I stand by it. We’ve got to look after our people,” he mentioned. “We’re spending a lot of time locked in hotel rooms inside bio-secure bubbles and it’s not easy,” Silverwood had mentioned.
England squad: Joe Root (capt), Jofra Archer, Moeen Ali, James Anderson, Dom Bess, Stuart Broad, Rory Burns, Jos Buttler, Zak Crawley, Ben Foakes, Dan Lawrence, Jack Leach, Dom Sibley, Ben Stokes, Olly Stone, Chris Woakes.
(With AFP inputs)
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