India’s wicket-keeper batsman Wriddhiman Saha, on Monday tested negative for Covid-19 and will now be part of the 20-man squad for the England tour.
The 36-year-old wicketkeeper has returned with two negative tests during his quarantine time. Before the tournament was suspended on May 4, he tested positive for the virus during the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021.
Notably, the Sunrisers Hyderabad wicket-keeper batsman was named in the 20-man India squad for the World Test Championship and the subsequent 5-Test series against England, subject to fitness clearance.
Wriddhiman Saha To Join Indian Squad For England Tour
Now as he got tested negative for the deadly virus, he is expected to join the rest of his Indian teammates who will quarantine in Mumbai before their departure to England in June. India players and support staff have been allowed to travel with their families to the UK where they will be spending close to 3 months.
Last week, the 36-year-old confirmed that he had tested positive in one of the two mandatory RT-PCR tests during his quarantine period, putting an end to speculation about his health. He is one of two wicketkeepers named to the England squad for the long tour. However, Rishabh Pant is expected to retain his place as the first-choice for wicketkeeper.
“My quarantine period is still not over. As a part of the routine check up, 2 tests were done, out of which 1 was negative and the other one came as positive. Otherwise, I am doing much better. Requesting everyone not to spread misleading stories/information without the whole context,” he had said in a social media post.
Saha had initially tested positive on May 4 ahead of SRH’s game against the defending champions Mumbai Indians. On the same day, Amit Mishra from Delhi Capitals also tested positive for coronavirus which forced the IPL Governing Council and the BCCI to unanimously postpone the T20 tournament with immediate effect.
The BCCI has earlier stated that the players selected for the WTC final and the subsequent England series need to test negative if they are to make it to the series. Both the men and the women squad will undergo quarantine for two weeks starting May 19. Both the Indian squads will assemble in Mumbai and are likely to fly out together on a charter flight to London on June 2.
Moreover, the two squads will travel to the UK through chartered flights which will be arranged by the BCCI. The support staff of both teams will accompany the players as well.
Full India Test Squad For WTC & England Tour:
Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill, Mayank Agarwal, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli (Captain), Ajinkya Rahane (vice-captain), Hanuma Vihari, Rishabh Pant (wicket-keeper), R. Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Jasprit Bumrah, Ishant Sharma, Mohammed Shami, Md. Siraj, Shardul Thakur, Umesh Yadav, KL Rahul (subject to fitness clearance), Wriddhiman Saha (wicket-keeper; subject to fitness clearance).S
Standby players: Abhimanyu Easwaran, Prasidh Krishna, Avesh Khan, Arzan Nagwaswalla