We wanted first-class games before England Tests: Virat Kohli

Indian skipper Virat Kohli has professed that the team wanted first-class games before England Tests. There was a lot of discussion going on before the commencement of the WTC final. Many cricket experts had stated that New Zealand would enter the WTC final with an advantage as they had already played two Tests against England. The Indian cricket team last played a first-class Test match against England at home. The entire team was coming after a break of almost a month post the Indian Premier League (IPL) suspension in May.

We have time for the first Test against England and we should be ready for it: Virat Kohli

According to Sunil Gavaskar, Virat Kohli and Co. managed to play only an intra-squad warm-up game, which is not proper match practice. Once again, there is a gap of more than a month before India and England will play against each other in a five-match Test series starting from August 4. The opening Test of the series is going to be held at Trent Bridge in Nottingham. Surprisingly, India defeated England at the same venue when they last met back in the year 2018. 

The Indian cricket team has no warm-up matches scheduled against the county teams before playing against England. Hence, this has now raised several questions over the matter. The last time when team India toured England, they competed really well. Although they lost 4-1, the series was highly competitive. On numerous occasions, team India seemed to have the game in the pocket before the hosts pounced on them almost always. 

The Indian cricket team is likely to get a 20-day break from the bio-bubble life in the UK after the conclusion of the WTC final in Southampton. All the cricketers are set to disperse on June 24. They will return back to the bio-bubble for the five-Test series against England around July 14. To avoid any further issues while regrouping, the entire team will have to be within the UK during their allotted break. The packed schedule will see the top two teams face each other in five Test matches in just six weeks.

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