Picture Credit: Twitter/@BCCI
Although the five-match Test series against England is still some time way, the touring Indian party finds itself in a bit of trouble. This is because they have already lost as many as three players of the squad to the series without even a single Test match out of the way. It is now being learnt that the Indian team management has in fact requested the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to send replacements for the injured trio of Washington Sundar, Avesh Khan and Shubman Gill.
To put things into perspective, those are not the only injury concerns in the team as captain Virat Kohli was ruled out of the lone practice game with a sore back and his deputy Ajinkya Rahane also couldn't play the three-day fixture due to swollen hamstring. In such a scenario, the team is fearing the worst case scenario where they will be left with few options, in case any more injuries were to happen during the course of long tour.
Other than the fitness concerns, even COVID-19 has given the team a few things to worry about. While Rishabh Pant has only recently recovered from the infection, Wriddhiman Saha and Abhimanyu Easwaran were also under quarantine and are likely to join the team soon.
We need to see how to send players to England: Senior BCCI official
"Team management has asked for the replacements but we need to see how to send them to England. Selectors will decide on the names if required. We will arrange for the logistics post," a senior BCCI official told InsideSport.
"Selection if required will only be done by the selectors. BCCI or the team management can’t impose anything on the selectors. But in the current circumstances it is not easy to send players to England," the BCCI official added.
However, even if BCCI agrees to fly players to the United Kingdom, there are a quite a few logistic challenges that the Indian cricket board may face. First of all, due to the COVID-19 protocols of the local government as well as the England and Wales Cricket Board, no player would be able to join the team instantly. Much like India, Sri Lanka, where a separate squad is playing the island country, is also in the Red List of the UK government and any player will have to undergo a mandatory quarantine before he is allowed to join the Indian contingent.