Wicketkeeper and four other squad members currently in isolation with remainder of group heading to Durham for a warm-up match next week
Pant tests positive for COVID-19 as India resume Test prep
India wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant has tested positive for COVID-19 in England ahead of their five-Test series starting next month, the BCCI confirmed Thursday.
Panted tested positive on July 8 and is nearing the completion of his quarantine period, while net bowler Dayanand Garani also tested positive, and he and close contacts B Arun (India's bowling coach), Wriddhiman Saha and Abhimanyu Easwaran are all undergoing 10-day isolation periods in their respective rooms in the team hotel in London.
The rest of the squad is headed to Durham as they build up to a warm-up match from next Tuesday against a County Select XI at the Riverside Ground, with the first Test beginning August 4 in Nottingham.
"(Pant) is asymptomatic and currently undergoing self-isolation at the place where he reported positive," said a BCCI media release. "He is being closely monitored by the BCCI Medical Team and is on his way to recovery. He will be able to join the squad in Durham after returning two negative RT-PCR tests.
"The entire Indian contingent including travelling family members and caretakers were administered with the second dose of covid vaccine earlier this month in London. To mitigate any further risks, the Indian contingent is taking the Lateral Flow Test on a daily basis."
England had their own COVID-19 crisis recently and were forced to field a new one-day side against Pakistan after three players and four support staff tested positive.
The India players have been in England since losing the World Test Championship (WTC) final against New Zealand in Southampton last month.
After a three-week break, off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin got some match practice playing for Surrey, claiming six second-innings wickets in their drawn County Championship match against Somerset on Wednesday.