The Indian squad is scheduled to depart in phases starting tomorrow for London. The first batch, consisting of around 20 people, will depart early on Tuesday. They will primarily be support staff employees, including Rahul Dravid. After the IPL final on May 28, the whole squad will only be assembled for the World Test Championship (WTC) final on June 7–12.
Players like Axar Patel, Shardul Thakur, and Mohammed Siraj will be in the initial group because their teams are no longer eligible for the IPL playoffs. The IPL squads of Virat Kohli and R Ashwin will depart later, primarily on May 24.
Umesh Yadav, whose Kolkata Knight Riders squad is also eliminated from the IPL, might eventually make it to England. Akash Deep, a medium pacer from Bengal, and Pulkit Narang, an off-spinner from Delhi, may be included in the initial group of net bowlers. Later, left-arm pacers Prithvi Raj Yarra and Aniket Choudhary from Rajasthan and Andhra may join.
The first batch was supposed to be sent just after the IPL league stage, which ended on Sunday. Some players have asked the BCCI to permit them to leave at a later time, though. Until May 30, there might be departures every day, according to a knowledgeable BCCI official. “Almost every day, logistics arrangements are made.”
Jaydev Unadkat, who has been receiving treatment for a shoulder injury at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bengaluru, is anticipated to be ready for the WTC final and may depart after May 27. Mukesh Kumar, one of the three standbys, will travel with the initial group, while Ruturaj Gaikwad and Suryakumar Yadav, members of the IPL’s Chennai Super Kings and Mumbai Indians, respectively, will do so when their respective matches are through.
The squad may not receive a warm-up game, thus the current intention is to play a game among the touring players after everyone arrives in London. At the London Oval, the championship game against Australia will be played.
