India wicketkeeper Pant tests positive for Covid-19

India wicketkeeper-batsman Rishabh Pant has tested positive for Covid-19 as the squad prepares for a Test series in England.

The Indian players, led by Virat Kohli, are currently in London but will enter a bio-secure bubble and leave for Durham later on Thursday for a tour match next week. The first Test begins on August 4 in Nottingham.

“Pant has tested positive and will not travel to Durham with the rest of the team,” a cricket official told AFP.

Pant, 23, has been in quarantine for the past week, the official said. Pant posted pictures of himself at a Euro 2020 match last month on his social media accounts.

Jay Shah, secretary of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), recently warned players in England to “avoid” crowded places including the

Wimbledon championships and Euros.

The India squad remained in England after losing to New Zealand in the World Test Championship final last month. The players were given a 20-day break before regrouping for a five-match series against England which marks the start of the second World Test Championship.

England have also been hit by the virus and fielded a second-string side, led by Ben Stokes, for their 3-0 oneday international series win against Pakistan.

Kohli and his men will play a three-day game behind closed doors against a County Select XI from Tuesday.

Off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin got some match practice playing for Surrey, claiming six second-innings wickets in their drawn County Championship match against Somerset on Wednesday.