ENG vs IND 2021: Team India kickstart their preparations for England Tests in Durham

Team India have begun their training in Durham for the upcoming five-match Test series against England, which starts on August 4 in Nottingham. This will be Virat Kohli & Co's first assignment in the second cycle of the ICC World Test Championship.

After traveling to Durham yesterday for their first warm-up game, the cricketers took part in a light training session. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) took to Twitter to share a photo from the session.

🇮🇳#TeamIndia pic.twitter.com/8dOk8uYM7W

— BCCI (@BCCI) July 16, 2021

Team India were on a break after the heavy defeat against New Zealand in the WTC final. They reassembled on July 14 before traveling to Durham where they play Durham’s select county championship XI in a practice game, starting July 20 at the Emirates Riverside ground.

The match will be played behind closed doors and will be live streamed on the Durham Cricket YouTube channel.

Earlier, Durham gave a warm welcome to the Indian Cricket Team after they arrived.

Hello, Durham. Great to be here 🌞#TeamIndia pic.twitter.com/grKVbb7VOF

— BCCI (@BCCI) July 16, 2021

Rishabh Pant, Wriddhiman Saha to miss India's first warm-up game

The young wicket-keeper batsman Rishabh Pant will miss the first practice game after being tested positive for COVID-19 on July 8. Along with Pant, India throwdown specialist Dayanand Garani has also contracted the deadly virus.

The BCCI medical team has identified that Wriddhiman Saha and Abhimanyu Easwaran came into close contact with Garani and have been isolated. They have not traveled with the squad to Durham and will join the team later.

KL Rahul is expected to don the wicket-keeping gloves in the absence of Rishabh Pant and Wriddhiman Saha. However, both Pant and Saha will be available for the intra-squad game, which starts on July 28.

“Both Pant and Saha will be unavailable for the team’s practice game against Combined County XI at Chester-le-Street at Durham from July 20, which means KL Rahul should be going the glovework in that game. However, Pant should be able to make it to the team’s second practice match – an intra-squad game from July 28,” a report in TOI quoted a source as saying.