Indian players to get a 20-day relief from bio-bubble life after WTC final: Reports

The Indian players featuring in the World Test Championship will get a 20-day break from the bio bubble after the completion of the final, a report in the ANI said.

It’s a welcome move, given how players have hardly got any time since the beginning of the Australia season last year, moving from one bubble to other.

"The group will head off for the break on June 24 after the final against New Zealand and then regroup again around July 14 to prepare for the Test series against England which gets underway from August 4," ANI quoted a source in the know of developments.

But then what is the extent of this relaxation? How far can players go?

"See, it is simple. The boys need to switch off and relax, but we cannot ignore that COVID-19 is still not completely gone. So, the travel plans have to be made in such a way that the boys and the families that are in the UK don't get stuck somewhere while taking the break. Imagine going to some other country and then that place gets a travel ban due to a sudden rise in cases. You don't want your players or their families stuck. So, we are looking at places in the UK," the source explained.

Bio-bubble life has been tough and skipper Virat Kohli had spoken about how disconnecting for a bit will allow the players to rejuvenate and refresh before England series.

"I feel like after you are done with WTC, I think it is a great opportunity to refresh and restructure, hopefully, if things are okay, just for the guys to be normal and disconnect again, to understand that we have the pressure of a five-match series. Like in Australia, if we had to contest in a bubble for that long period, it would have been tough," Kohli had said.

"Just the fact that we had the freedom to go out and access the kind of things there (Australia), it gave us space to refresh and reset. I think it is absolutely fine, it will give us time to refresh and prepare for a long series. That kind of setup is important before you go to a lengthy series. The challenge in England can be daunting, so we want to have the time before that series."