Manchester: The fifth and final Test match between India and England at Old Trafford in Manchester has been called off due to the coronavirus scare in the Indian camp on Friday. This match could be played later in due course, said BCCI source to PTI.
Head coach Ravi Shastri was the first person to have contracted the virus and soon after, bowling coach Bharat Arun and fielding coach R Sridhar also tested positive RT-PCR test. On Thursday, India’s assistant physiotherapist Yogesh Parmar tested COVID-19 positive.
As per ESPNCricinfo, all players of the Indian team had reportedly tested negative. But it’s understood that some senior players are reluctant to play given the circumstances and expressed their concerns about taking the field in talks between the BCCI and the team management.
Following ongoing conversations with the BCCI, the ECB can confirm that the fifth LV= Insurance Test at Emirates Old Trafford, due to start today, will be cancelled.
— England Cricket (@englandcricket) September 10, 2021
“Following ongoing conversations with the BCCI, the ECB can confirm that the fifth LV= Insurance Test between England and India Men due to start today at Emirates Old Trafford, will be canceled. Due to fears of a further increase in the number of COVID cases inside the camp, India is regrettably unable to field a team,” ECB said in a statement.
While the first day’s play has been suspended, there continues to be a question mark on the fate of the match. It has also been reported that many Indian players want to undergo another round of RT-PCR tests before deciding whether to play the 5th Test will be safe or not.
India leads the five-Test series 2-1 after winning the second Test at Lord’s by 151 runs and the fourth Test at The Oval by 157 runs. However, with the Manchester Test called off, there is still no official word on the final score.
With the remainder of the IPL 2021 set to resume from September 19, postponing the Test by either 24 or 48 hours would have put the T20 league at risk, where teams have been preparing for close to three weeks. Followed by the 2021 ICC T20 World Cup which begins a couple of days after the scheduled IPL final.
