Bharat Arun, Wriddhiman Saha
India's bowling coach Bharat Arun, senior wicketkeeper-batsman Wriddhiman Saha and reserve player Abhimanyu Easwaran rejoined the Indian Test squad on Saturday in Durham after completing their mandatory period of ten-day quarantine as per the COVID-19 protocols of the UK. The players even took part in the training session.
The three had to isolate themselves from the Indian squad after coming in contact with assistant/net bowler Dayanand Garani, who had tested positive for coronavirus on July 14. Garani is yet to rejoin the squad.
Young wicketkeeper-batsman Rishabh Pant too had earlier tested positive for the dreaded virus but recovered earlier this week to join the Indian squad. The return of the aforementioned three players implies that they are all available for selection for the impeding five-match Test series against England which begins from August 4 onwards at Trent Bridge in Nottingham. The three had however missed India's three-day warm-up game against County Select XI.
With Pant and Saha absent from the game, KL Rahul had to don the gloves and the player returned with an impressive century in what was his first red-ball game since 2020.
The tour game had ended in a draw where Ravindra Jadeja put up scores of 75 and 51 while pacers Umesh Yadav and Mohammed Siraj were among the wicket-takers for India.
