India's Test players have left for England where they will play the postponed fifth Test from their 2021 series in the country. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) shared photos of the players at the airport and in flight ahead of the tour.
India are set to face England at Old Trafford starting on July 1. The match is counted as the fifth Test of India's 2021 series in the country, which they lead 2-1. The final Test was postponed in the last minute after a Covid-19 outbreak in the Indian camp.
A lot has changed for both teams since the series was postponed. Both teams have different captains with Virat Kohli having stepped down for India earlier this year and Rohit Sharma taking over. All-rounder Ben Stokes, meanwhile, has taken over as England captain after Joe Root was sacked.
{{/usCountry}}A lot has changed for both teams since the series was postponed. Both teams have different captains with Virat Kohli having stepped down for India earlier this year and Rohit Sharma taking over. All-rounder Ben Stokes, meanwhile, has taken over as England captain after Joe Root was sacked.
{{/usCountry}}Both sides also have new head coaches. While Ravi Shastri stepped down last year and Rahul Dravid took over for India, Brendon McCullum was appointed as England's Test coach after Chris Silverwood was sacked last month.
India had recently announced their squad for their upcoming two-match T20I series against Ireland. All-rounder Hardik Pandya has been named captain while fast bowler Bhuvneshwar Kumar will be his deputy. Rishabh Pant, who is captain of the team for the ongoing five-T20I series against South Africa, will later join the Indian Test squad alongwith Shreyas Iyer.
Pujara, who alongwith Ajinkya Rahane was dropped for India's home Test series against New Zealand, makes a comeback into the squad on the back of his extraordinary form in this year's County Championships.