IND vs ENG: Joe Root and Co arrive in Chennai

Joe Root. Pic/AFP

Members of the England cricket team including captain Joe Root arrived in the city on Wednesday for the four-match series against India with the first two Tests to be played here. Some of the Indian players, including captain Virat Kohli, coach Ravi Shastri and members of the support staff also landed in this southern city, airport sources said. Root and Co flew in from Sri Lanka at around 10.30 AM and headed to the hotel where members of the two teams will be put up as part of the bio-bubble, a Tamil Nadu Cricket Association official said.

The England team had on Monday completed a 2-0 series sweep of the Tests against Sri Lanka with Root slamming two big centuries. Star all-rounder Ben Stokes and Jofra Archer had arrived in the city on Sunday and are in quarantine. While a few Indian players including star batsman Rohit Sharma and Test vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane arrived on Tuesday night, some others like Cheteshwar Pujara, Jasprit Bumrah and Rishabh Pant, star of the series-clinching victory in the Brisbane Test, reached on Wednesday morning. Team coach Ravi Shastri flew in from Mumbai as did several other players from destinations across the country. Kohli, who had missed the last three Tests in Australia for the birth of his child, arrived at around 10 PM on Wednesday.

The players of the two teams will be staying at Hotel Leela Palace in a bio-bubble as part of quarantine protocols and will undergo testing for COVID-19, the TNCA official said. "They will be in quarantine for six days and are set to start practising from February 2," the official added. The first Test will be played at the M A Chidambaram stadium from February 5 and the second from February 13. Chennai had last hosted a Test match in December 2016 against England.

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