India, New Zealand, ICC World Test Championship Final
Kane Williamson and Virat Kohli. Image Credits: Twitter

The United Kingdom on Monday added India to its red list of travel, essentially putting their strictest curbs on the country which is seeing an explosion of COVID-19 cases lately. This has put India’s participation in the upcoming final of the ICC World Test Championship in June.

India has seen close to and over 2 lakh cases each day for the past week or so, which has seen lockdown-like conditions being put in many big states. India reported 273,810 new infections on Monday, its highest daily rise since the start of the pandemic. It has now reported more than 15 million infections, second only to the United States.

India, ICC World Test Championship Final
Indian Cricket Team. Image Credits: BCCI

Health Secretary Matt Hancock confirmed the move in the House of Commons as he revealed that 103 cases of the so-called Indian variant had been identified in the UK, of which the “vast majority have links to international travel”.

He further said that India was being added to Britain’s “red list” of countries, banning all arrivals from India except for UK or Irish nationals, who must pay to stay in a government-approved quarantine hotel for 10 days on their return.

Indian Cricket Team
Indian Cricket Team. Image Credits: Twitter

British PM Boris Johnson has also canceled his trip to India next week and it was mentioned that Johnson and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi would speak later this month and planned to meet in person later this year.

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India’s Participation In Doubt For The Final Of The ICC World Test Championship Final On June 18

However, this curb on travel has major ramifications on the Indian cricket team’s participation in the upcoming final of the ICC World Test Championship which is slated to be played from June 18-22 with 23rd June being a reserve day. India is slated to face New Zealand in the final, which will be played at the Ageas Bowl in Southampton.

Indian Cricket Team, ICC World Test Championship Points Table
Indian Cricket Team. Image Credits: BCCI

As per renowned sports journalist Vikrant Gupta, the ICC has taken note of the UK government putting India on the red list of travel. They are hoping that the ICC World Test Championship final will go as planned despite no Indian will be allowed in the UK post-June 24.

“The @ICC has reacted to the UK Govt’s decision to put India/Indians on the Red list. They are hopeful of World Test Championship Final (June 18) taking place as scheduled even though no Indian will be allowed into the UK post April 24. There is time but it’s a ticklish issue now,” Gupta tweeted.

India defeated Australia in Australia 2-1 in the Test series and then beat England in India 3-1 in the four-Test series to qualify for the final of the ICC World Test Championship.

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