The World Test Championship final between India and New Zealand will go ahead as planned in Southampton from June 18, the International Cricket Council (ICC) has assured after Britain added India to its travel ‘red list’ following a massive surge in Covid-19 caseload.
India’s entry into the ‘red list’ effectively bans all travel from the country and makes a 10-day hotel quarantine compulsory for UK residents arriving back home.
However, the ICC expressed confidence in staging the WTC final in a bio-secure environment.
“The ECB and other members have demonstrated how we can stage International cricket safely in the middle of a pandemic and we are confident that we can continue to do that and that the WTC Final will go ahead as planned in June in the UK,” said the ICC in a statement on Monday night.
“We are currently discussing with the UK Government the impact of countries being on the 'red list',” it added.
A BCCI source told PTI that it’s difficult to say anything at this point in time and the Board is hoping that India will not be in the ‘red list’ by the time the team leaves for UK in early June for the WTC final.