WTC Final: Virat Kohli-Anushka Sharma along with other family members can travel to UK with team after clearance

Team India captain Virat Kohli with wife Anushka Sharma. (Source: Twitter)

In a major relief for the Virat Kohli-led Team India that will travel to England for a long tour, the cricketers’ families have been allowed to travel along with the team. According to a report in a cricket website, the UK government has given clearance for this. This would come as a respite for players during the times of the pandemic.

The Kohli-led side would be in the UK for nearly four months in which they will play the inaugural World Test Championship final, which would be followed by the five-match Test series against England. The women’s team will also travel to the UK where they would play one Test followed by three ODIs and three T20Is against England.

The families of cricketers, including Kohli’s wife and Bollywood star Anushka Sharma and their daughter Vamika, would be on the chartered flight that would be used by the men’s and the women’s teams. They would land in London on June 3. From London, the team will move to Southampton, the venue for the WTC final, according to ESPNCricinfo.

“As per the bio-safety protocols established for the event, in line with UK government and Public Health England requirements, the Indian men’s team will arrive in the UK on 3 June 2021 via a charter flight and carrying evidence of a negative PCR Test,” the ICC said in a media release on May 29.

The Indian women will move to Bristol after landing in London, the venue of their one-off Test against England. The men’s team, too, is expected to start training at the Ageas Bowl in Southampton in a controlled manner post-quarantine.