India to leave for Australia on August 29; Gargi Banerjee appointed as team manager

The Indian contingent is likely to leave for Australia from Bengaluru on August 29, 2021, with former India international Gargi Banerjee acting as the team manager for the tour.



According to a report by Sportstar, the Indian squad and the support staff would have to undergo a 14-day quarantine upon reaching Australia ahead of the tour. The players are likely to be allowed to train after the first seven days of hard quarantine.



The first of the three ODIs against Australia is scheduled to be played on September 19 in Sydney. The ODI series will be followed by a historic day-night Test match and a three-match T20I series.



Currently, as many as 30 players are undergoing a training camp in Bengaluru to prepare for the tour. The five players who were a part of The Hundred are expected to report in Bengaluru on Sunday (August 22) and undergo a six-day quarantine before joining the squad.



The entire contingent will be tested for COVID regularly before they leave for Australia. After Trupti Bhattacharya, Rajkvardevi Gaekwad had taken over as team manager for the tour of England. However, ahead of the Australia tour, the BCCI has appointed Banerjee as the team manager.



Shiv Sunder Das will be the batting coach with Subhadeep Ghosh taking care of the fielding department. Amogh Pandit and Tanuja Lele are the strength and conditioning coaches, and Akanksha Satyavanshi and Tracy Fernandes are the physiotherapists for the team.



It has also been learnt that the players are stimulating match situations in the training camp and the main squad is scheduled to have practice sessions under lights for the last three days of the camp with the pink ball.



The 12 Tests and 26 ODIs veteran was earlier the chairperson of the national selection committee and was felicitated by the Cricket Association of Bengal for her new assignment on Saturday (August 21).