England Adds India To Covid Travel 'Red List', Might Impact Cricket Summer In Country

Britain on Monday imposed its strictest travel curbs on India after an explosion of coronavirus cases there, hours after Prime Minister Boris Johnson called off a trip to New Delhi.

Health Secretary Matt Hancock said that effective from 0300 GMT on Friday, India was being added to Britain's "red list" of countries, banning all arrivals from India except for UK or Irish nationals.

Monday's announcement could also have a knock-on effect upon England's upcoming home international cricket schedule.

Several leading England and New Zealand cricketers currently taking part in the lucrative Indian Premier League tournament are expected to fly in for the two-match Test series that starts at London's Lord's ground on June 2.

Indian players could be affected too, with Virat Kohli's men set to face New Zealand in the inaugural World Test Championship final in Southampton later that month.

But the Rose Bowl ground at Southampton, the headquarters of county side Hampshire, boasts an on-site hotel and it was one of the venues, along with Manchester's Old Trafford, that has a similar set-up, which pioneered international cricket's return from coronavirus-enforced suspension last year.

A spokesperson for the International Cricket Council, the sport's global governing body, said: "The ECB (England and Wales Cricket Board) 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 World Test Championship Final will go ahead as planned in June in the UK."

The India women's team is also due to arrive for a multi-format series against England starting on June 16.