IND vs ENG: After testing Covid-19 positive, Ravi Ashwin to join Team India in England soon

As Team India is gearing up for the rescheduled fifth Test from last year, the Men in Blue faced a minor setback as spinner Ravichandran Ashwin tested positive for Covid-19. He did not join his teammates in the UK and remained in quarantine.

READ | 'Please focus on new captain': Rohit Sharma fans unhappy with cameraman's focus on Virat Kohli

However, the veteran spinner and middle-order batter is anticipated the side sooner than planned. India will be playing a warm-up game on June 24 against Leicester County and the all-rounder is stated to make a return for the same.

Ashwin is expected to arrive in England in the coming days and his travel preparations are being finalised, Cricbuzz reported. A report also stated that off-spinner Jayant Yadav was considered as Ashwin's replacement if the spinner would not have made a recovery, Hindustan Times reported. 

Talking about the bowler's contribution, he has 442 wickets for India in 86 Test matches. He has also amassed 2,931 runs in the longest format, with five centuries and 12 half-centuries. In the ICC rankings, Ashwin is the second-ranked all-rounder in Tests. 

Talking about the Test against England in Leicester, Indian head coach Rahul Dravid, white-ball stand-in skipper Rishabh Pant, and elite batter Shreyas Iyer joined the Team India camp.

The rescheduled Test match will begin on July 1 after which India will play three ODIs and as many T20Is in England. The two-Test teams will be playing under new skippers as the English side saw Joe Root step down as their captain with Ben Stokes taking over.