
Covid has altered countless plans throughout the face of the globe and one of the latest victims of this menacing virus is the County XI who was supposed to play against India in a warm-up Test before the five-match affair kick-started.
The ECB submitted an official request to the Indian cricket team to allow two players to play for County XI as the team missed out on their full capacity given the unwanted advance of injuries and Covid.
India allowed Avesh Khan and Washington Sundar to play for County XI n the warm-up game. However, the duo donned on Indian jerseys while playing and shared the Indian bubble. This made them a part of the Indian dressing room during breaks. There were a lot of controversies that caught fire when India didn’t play a single warm-up game before the WTC finals kicked off.
The custom that India always followed
It used to be a customary practice for the Indians to play warm-up matches with the local teams before the beginning of any series. However, a steep deviation from that was alleged as the most probable reason for India’s negative approach on the last day of the Test match.
This, however, will be a warm-up contest and will be spanning for three days instead of the usual five days. This will allow the Indians to build a good deal of confidence after a shattering loss in the WTC finals.
England will be a tough contender to crack and India’s batting has spawned some serious woes with the middle-order skittling out way too quickly with very minimal resistance and that is what will be bothering them the most.
Washington Sundar will be a key man to watch out for, especially after a decent showdown against Australia Down Under. India will be very keen on watching the youngsters perform as a loss in this series can lead to a lot of questions and changes in the line-up.