India Tour of England: With $137 Million on line, ECB making strict bio-bubble plans for England & India teams

ENG vs IND – India Tour of England: After 7 squad members tested positive on Tuesday, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) has completely lost their sleep. The worry for them is not the series vs Pakistan but the forthcoming India vs England test series. Reason for ECB’s worries is almost $137 million is riding on the 5 match test series between Virat Kohli’s India vs Joe Root’s England.

This is the reason ECB have stepped up their COVID-19 vaccination program ahead of the crucial India Tour of England starting next month.

India Tour of England: With $137 Million on line, ECB making strict bio-bubble plans for England & India teams

ENG vs IND – India Tour of England: The reigning World Champions were dealt a huge blow after seven positive tests put a spanner in their works ahead of their series against Pakistan, meaning Ben Stokes’ side will feature nine debutants. The ECB are now focused on making sure that all players likely to be involved in the upcoming series against Team India are fully protected before the Test series considering the stakes involved.

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ENG vs IND – India Tour of England: What measures ECB will take?

• As per a Daily Mail report, The ECB are aiming that players from both teams are administered both doses of the COVID-19 vaccine ahead of the India tour of England.
• The five-test series against India is worth £100million ($137 million) to the ECB in broadcasting, commercial and ticketing revenue and an outbreak or postponement could lead to dire consequences for the governing body.
• A postponement is not a viable option considering the packed schedules, with Team India set to travel to UAE soon after the fifth Test to play in the Phase 2 of the IPL, which begins five days later.
• The IPL itself was postponed after a huge spike of cases midway through the tournament in April.

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ENG vs IND – England have managed to avoid postponements ever since they backed out of the tour to South Africa late last year citing concerns over COVID-19 protocols. While seven COVID-19 positive tests did cause a scare for the ECB, they swiftly put the original squad for the series in isolation, picking a whole new team with nine debutants. Seven players from the England camp received their COVID-19 vaccination on Monday, which was planned in advance before the outbreak.

Meanwhile, Virat Kohli and Co. are enjoying a 20-day break following the World Test Championship final and will resume training in London next week, before travelling to Durham for a game against a County Select XI. All members of their contingent have received their first dose of vaccine, and are expected to get jabbed for the second time in the coming weeks.