India vs England: R Ashwin joins Team India ahead of the practice match against Leicestershire

Veteran Indian spinner Ravichandran Ashwin joined the Indian squad in Leicester as he was cleared negative for Covid-19 infection. Ashwin had tested positive for Covid-19 and hence had missed the flight to England last week along with his fellow teammates. But he has recovered now from the infection and joined the team ahead of the four-day practice match against Leicestershire. BCCI tweeted some pictures from the pre-match training session which confirmed the news. Ravi Ashwin can be seen in the group huddle along with other teammates.

Hello and welcome to Day 1 of our practice match against @leicsccc #TeamIndia pic.twitter.com/nUilsYz5fT

— BCCI (@BCCI) June 23, 2022

Ashwin’s presence gives Team India a major mental boost ahead of the fifth Test and he will look to build on his experience of playing for two county teams previously (Nottinghamshire and Worcestershire) in England. On the previous tour to England, of which this match is an extension, Ashwin warmed the bench in all the four Tests. The situation might be the same this time as well, given Jadeja’s all-round abilities. The Test match is a part of the five-match series that was played last year. However, the last match was halted due to Covid-19 cases in the visitor’s camp. Meanwhile, in the practice match, Rohit Sharma won the toss and chose to bat. India, however, lost five wickets inside the first session of the play with a score of 90 on the board.

Since it is a practice match, all the players can participate and they are not required to announce a playing XI. While the two openers, Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill were off to a flurry of boundaries initially, both were caught out. Hanuma Vihari, Shreyas Iyer, and Ravindra Jadeja were also sent back to the pavilion soon. Virat Kohli and KS Bharat held the fortress at the end of the first session.