Debasis Sen, Manchester: The Indian cricketers are enjoying a much needed break for a couple of days post their emphatic win over Pakistan in the ICC Cricket World Cup group league encounter at Old Trafford on Sunday. Indian captain Virat Kohli along with most other team members checked out of the Raddisson Blu hotel in Manchester early morning on Monday to travel to London. MS Dhoni, Hardik Pandya, Jasprit Bumrah, Kedar Jadhav, KL Rahul and Md Shami left Manchester on their own. Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan, who are accompanied by their families, chose to travel to Southampton by flight. Few cricketers have travelled to Scotland with their families to enjoy the couple of days break.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who had a hamstring injury on Sunday’s match, visited a local hospital for a MRI scan with physio Patrick Farhat. Bhuvi looked relaxed at the hotel lobby and seemed confident getting fit before the Afghanistan match on June 22 at Ageas Bowl. He was later seen checking out of the team hotel with his wife.
The rest of the team members which mostly included support staffs boarded the team coach along with Kuldeep Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja and Vijay Shankar on their way to Southampton at local time 11 am.
The Men in Blue have been travelling from one city to another on road as it is logistically easier. Travelling by train is logistically not possible due to security arrangements as it is not possible to hire an entire train. Had the team travelled by trains it would only add to more logistical headaches as the players had to be taken from the station to the hotel they are staying. That’s why busses are mostly preferred by teams touring England.
It is learnt that the team will start training at Southampton from June 19.