IND vs ENG: Virat Kohli To Take Day-Off From India's 4-Day Camp To Attend Ram Temple Consecration - Reports

India team will be having a four-day camp to prepare for the Test series against England. As per the reports in Cricbuzz, it is learned that the Rohit Sharma-led side will assemble on 20th January in Hyderabad ahead of the first Test.

The first Test between India and England will commence on 25th January at the Uppal Stadium in Hyderabad. The players have been told to arrive at the venue on the 20th and as soon as they will land, they will go under a net session, as per reports.

The reports added that Virat Kohli too will be joining the camp on the 20th but after his net session on January 21st, he will be given a one-day break. The batter will be attending the Ram Temple Consecration in Ayodhya on the 22nd and for that he has been granted permission by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).

Indian players who are part of the squad for the T20I series against Afghanistan will be given a two-day break after the ongoing series concludes. The last match will be played on 17th January in Bengaluru and after two days they will be joining the Test squad on the 20th.

The reports claimed that all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja has already started his preparations for the Test series against England. He has reached the National Cricket Academy (NCA) and has canceled all his commercial engagements and ad shoots to prepare for the series.

After the first match in Hyderabad, the second game between India and England will be played from 2nd February in Visakhapatnam with the third game being played in Rajkot from 15th February. The final two games will be played from 23rd February and 7th March in Ranchi and Dharamsala respectively.

The series between the teams will be crucial for both the sides in context of the ICC World Test Championship. Both sides have faced some disappointing losses and would be hoping to win as many games as possible in the series.

IND vs ENG: England team to arrive on 21st January in India

England cricket team led by Ben Stokes will be arriving in India just four days ahead of the series. They will be landing on 21st January on the back of some practice sessions in Abu Dhabi. The Three Lions have been putting hard yards in gulf nation to get used to subcontinent conditions.

However, their late arrival in India didn’t go well with former cricketer Steve Harmison. He feels that England will be at the receiving end of the 5-0 thrashing because one cannot travel to India unprepared. Speaking to radio station talkSport’s Following On podcast, he stated:

“I’m an old man and that’s what they’re going to say, the times have changed. But preparation hasn’t changed. You cannot go into India underprepared, you cannot go into India over-prepared. You could be in India six weeks before and still not be prepared for that first Test and the emotion of that.”

England are the only team to defeat India in the Test series at home since 2010. They achieved the feat during the 2012 tour and would be hoping to achieve the same this time around. Under the leadership of Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum, it will be interesting to see how they tackle this challenge.