Reports: Indian women's team likely to opt out of England tour

Indian women’s cricket team is expected to withdraw from their scheduled tour of England in September, according to media reports. Team India was supposed to travel to England in August and follow a 14-day quarantine period. The series was pushed back to later this year due to the coronavirus pandemic with initially slated to be played in June.

The series was also set to be transformed into a tri-series with South Africa being the third team. Following a 14-day quarantine period to create a bio-secure environment for the players amid the COVID-19 restrictions, the Women in Blue would have taken part in the tri-series in September.

India’s participation in the series has been put on hold

India’s participation in the series has been put on hold considering the rising coronavirus cases in the country, a recent report in ESPNcricinfo conferred. Also, with the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) reportedly planning to extend their series against South Africa, the possibility of a tri-series has also become inconspicuous. The revised schedule will be made public in the near future.

Last month, the England board had announced a 24-member squad to take part in a bio-secure environment for the series in an individual and small group capacity. The players returned to training on June 22 after a long interruption caused due to the pandemic restrictions.

The training was scheduled at six venues, namely with the National Performance Centre in Loughborough and Chester Boughton Hall CC in Lancashire joining four county grounds — Headingley, The Oval, Bristol County Ground and the County Ground in Hove.