Team India to tour England with a big squad after A series postponed due to COVID

The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) has postponed India A's tour of England, which was programmed for this summer. India A was supposed to play against England Lions. They were also going to play warm-up games against their own national team, who are prepared to go head to head with England in a five-test series across August and September. Considering the postponement, Virat Kohli & Co. will now travel with a larger squad. The team will also prepare for the test series with two intra-squad four-day games.

England's packed home series starts with two Tests against New Zealand in June, with Sri Lanka. After that, Pakistan will be arriving in the country for limited-overs matches before attention switches again to red-ball cricket with a five-match series against India. New Zealand, Sri Lanka, and Pakistan all had county fixtures scheduled, whereas India A was meant to play only two four-day matches against India in England.

England to host Sri Lanka, Pakistan, and New Zealand in the summer of 2021

The ECB further reckoned that modifying the calendar was made to deliver the safest possible environment for the international games scheduled over the English summer. There is a hectic calendar as far as cricket in England is concerned. There are also a host of domestic games aligned along with the Inaugural edition of The Hundred. In a recent statement, ECB chief executive officer Tom Harrison stated that they would look forward to welcoming India A team when restrictions are eased. Other than India, England is also going to host Sri Lanka, Pakistan, and New Zealand in the summer of 2021.

As per the reports in the TOI, the English cricket board had a talk with the visiting teams' cricket boards. The visiting team has also agreed to cancel their warm-up matches against English county teams. All three teams will be playing intra-squad games as practice for their series against England. The senior Indian cricket team is scheduled to depart for England shortly after completing the ongoing edition of the IPL. The New Zealand tour of England kickstarts on May 25 with a practice match. It will then be followed by two Tests at the Lord's and Edgbaston. The ICC World Test Championship final is scheduled to be played at the Rose Bowl in Southampton from June 18.

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