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The fifth and final Test between England and India, which was suspended due to a COVID-19 outbreak in the visitors' camp last year, is scheduled to be played from July 1 to July 5 at Edgbaston. The team has already arrived in the UK and is currently at Leicestershire to play a warm-up match against Lancashire. India will face the county side from June 24 to 27 in a 4-day practice match.
However, ahead of the one-off Test, Team India have been cautioned by BCCI due to the increasing number of COVID cases in India and the UK. After reports emerged that Ravichandran Ashwin has tested positive for the virus and had not boarded the flight to England, a new report claims that Virat Kohli too tested positive for the virus upon his return from the Maldives, where he went on holiday with his family. However, the former Indian skipper is said to have fully recovered now.
“Yes, Virat too was hit by Covid after returning from holidaying in the Maldives, but he’s recovered now,” a source was quoted as saying by TOI.
According to reports, BCCI treasurer, Arun Dhumal, has advised the players to take all precautions as the board doesn't want to be in a similar situation like last year when they had to call off the 5th and final Test of the series due to COVID-19 cases inside the Indian camp.
“The Covid threat is reduced in the UK. But still, players should be more careful. We will ask the team to be a little careful,” Arun Dhumal, BCCI treasurer, told a sports media outlet.