R Ashwin likely to play a County Championship match before England Tests
R Ashwin, the Indian all-rounder, could represent Surrey in their 2021 County Championship match against Somerset that starts on Sunday, July 11 at the Kennington Oval in London. However, he needs a work visa to play the first-class game before joining Team India ahead of their five-match Test series against England, starting August 4 at the Trent Bridge in Nottingham.
Both parties are confident that Ashwin would get the visa for the first-class match at the KIA Oval. The venue in London is the host for the fourth and penultimate Test, starting Thursday, September 2. Ashwin’s match against Somerset is scheduled to end on Wednesday, July 14, the day Team India reconvenes. The Indian squad is currently on a break before the high-profile Test series.
India request for tour matches before England series
For the time being, Team India have no tour games scheduled before the series. India haven’t been a great fan of tour matches over the years, though they played one last year before the series against Australia. However, reports in ESPNcricinfo suggested that India have put forth a late request for a couple of tour matches before they reach Nottingham to face Joe Root’s Three Lions.
Back in June, India played the World Test Championship (WTC) final against New Zealand at the Rose Bowl in Southampton. After six days of play, India lost the match by eight wickets in the final session of the Reserve Day. Black Caps’ fast bowler Kyle Jamieson became the Player of the Match after he picked up a five-wicket haul and also scored useful runs in the first innings.
Prior to the WTC final, the Kiwis had played two Tests against England. However, India didn’t get to play a game in the UK before the high-voltage match. In the post-match press conference of the WTC, Virat Kohli said that his team didn’t get what it wanted.
“Well, that doesn’t depend on us. We obviously wanted first-class games, which I believe have not been given to us. I don’t know what the reasons for that are. But yeah, other than that, I think our preparation time will be ample for us to be ready for the first Test,” Kohli said.
