Empty airport, no hype as Team India lands in England for marquee Test series – WATCH

Empty airport, no hype as Team India lands in England for marquee Test series – WATCH

Empty airport, no hype as Team India lands in England for marquee Test series – WATCH Photograph: (X)

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A new-look Indian Team landed in the UK for the marquee five-match Test series on Saturday (June 7); however, the vibe and their welcome were different from how it was on their arrival in Adelaide on their previous away tour.

Gone are the days when an Indian Team used to land in a foreign country to a sea of fans waiting for them at the airport, cheering them through to their team hotel or even practice venues, as the sight upon their arrival in England this time was contrasting - no fans, no hype and no media. A new-look Indian Team landed in the UK for the marquee five-match Test series on Saturday (June 7); however, the vibe and their welcome were different from how it was on their arrival in Adelaide on their previous away tour.

With no two certain superstars in former India captain Rohit Sharma and batting giant Virat Kohli in the squad, as both hung up their boots from the traditional format earlier last month, there was a massive dip in the hype surrounding new leadership in Test captain Shubman Gill, alongside head coach Gautam Gambhir.

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Though a few players picked in the 18-man squad for the England series starting June 20 in Leeds had already arrived in the country to partake in the shadow tour (with India-A), including KL Rahul and Dhruv Jurel, the remaining ones reached on Saturday.

Meanwhile, when India toured Australia last year, which happened to be Virat and Rohit’s final series in the whites, countless fans assembled at the airport in Adelaide, accompanying them to the practice ground. Such was the craze of Virat Kohli that he made headlines even before the series began, with the BCCI later forced to stage the indoor training session to avoid crowding the venue.

Kohli, however, also recently made headlines but for all the wrong reasons after his IPL franchise RCB were at the centre of a failed and unplanned roadshow and victory celebration in Bengaluru, following their maiden IPL title win the other night. With countless fans flocking to the M Chinnaswamy stadium to get a glimpse of their franchise heroes, jubilation turned into a disaster, killing 11 people and injuring 33 others in a stampede.

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No hype for India’s tour of England

Although there is plenty to ponder on the new-look squad ahead of the five-match Test series, with the series holding significance on several grounds, the same energy, however, wasn’t felt outside.

Besides, in a video doing the rounds on social media, Indian journalist Vimal Kumar said, "I did not get to see that hype. Not a single fan or media personnel was seen."

Check out the Video –

Team India's arrival to the UK - Video

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Meet Gautam, a seasoned journalist with over eight years of experience in covering the world of sports. I am a self-proclaimed cricket fanatic, having a deep passion for the game a...Read More