Fit-again R Ashwin joins Team India before Tour Match against Leicestershire

Team India received a big boost before the start of their tour of England as star all-rounder R Ashwin joined the squad on Thursday before the start of India’s Tour Match against Leicestershire at the Uptonsteel County Ground in Leicester.

Ashwin did not travel to England along with the other team members, for the rescheduled fifth Test in Edgbaston slated to be played from July 1 to 5, as he tested positive for Covid-19. The veteran bowler was immediately put into quarantine while the other team members left for England on June 16.

However, after recovering from Covid-19 and completing all the necessary protocols, Ashwin travelled to England earlier this week and joined the Indian team in Leicester before the start of the practice game.

While BCCI did not make any official statement on Ashwin joining the squad, the Twitter handle did share pictures of the Indian squad before the start of the match against Leicestershire where Ashwin was spotted.

Ashwin however was not named in the Indian playing XI for the Tour Match.

The four-day game began from Thursday with the Indian team featuring the likes of captain Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Hanuma Vihari, KS Bharat (wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj, Umesh Yadav.

Meanwhile, the Leicestershire team also comprises four Indian players – Cheteshwar Pujara, Rishabh Pant, Jasprit Bumrah and Prasidh Krishna – who are playing under skipper Sam Evans.