Members of the England cricket team including captain Joe Root on Wednesday landed in Chennai, India for the impending four-Test series with the first two matches scheduled to be played in the capital of Tamil Nadu.The England team flew in from Sri Lanka at around 10:30 am and headed to the hotel where the members of the two teams will be staying as part of the bio-secure bubble.
The England team are heading into the highly-anticipated series after an incredible 2-0 win over Sri Lanka where skipper Root slammed two massive tons. Star all-rounder Ben Stokes and pacer Jofra Archer had already arrived in Chennai on Sunday and are already in quarantine.
While a few Indian players including the likes of Test vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane, Rohit Sharma arrived in the southern city on Tuesday, others such as Cheteshwar Pujara, JaspritBumrahand Rishabh Pant reached Chennai on Wednesday morning. Indian skipper Virat Kohli is set to arrive in the city later on Wednesday.
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Both India and England will be staying at the Hotel Leela Palace in a bio-secure bubble as part of the quarantine protocols and will undergo testing for COVID-19. The players will be in quarantine for six days and are scheduled to startpractisingfrom February 2.
The first Test is due to be played at the MA Chidambaram Stadium from February 5 with the second scheduled from February 14.
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It will be a homecoming of Test matches in Chennai after the city last hosted the longest format of the game in December 2016 against England. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the first two matches of the Test series will be played behind closed doors and callover crowdson remaining matcheswill be taken at a later stage by the BCCI.