London: The fifth and final Test match of the ongoing series between England and India got called off due to the COVID-19 threat. Yogesh Parmar, India’s junior physio, tested positive just a day before the game was set to restart. However, he returned negative a few hours later. The BCCI and England Cricket Board (ECB) decided to call off the match after a series of conflicts.
Incidentally, the match was initially postponed by a day only, however, India feared they would not possibly be able to field their best possible XI. Also, considering the commencement of the second half of the 14th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL), BCCI looked at the larger picture and decided to postpone it.
On the other hand, the England players were not happy with the cancellation of the Old Trafford match and it is reported that Jonny Bairstow, Dawid Malan, and Chris Woakes are opting to pull out of the UAE leg of the cash-rich league.
Malan is a member of the Punjab Kings, while Bairstow and Woakes are members of the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) and Delhi Capitals, respectively. Aiden Markram, a South African standout batter, was quickly named Malan’s replacement by Punjab Kings.
The replacement or the absence of the English players might affect the team combination of the respective franchise as all the sides gear up for the second half of IPL scheduled to begin on September 19.
Only Moeen Ali, a member of the Test team that faced India, is expected to board the UAE flight and play for Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in the IPL. Although the future of his CSK colleague Sam Curran is unknown, Ali appears to be a lock to play for the franchise in Yellow in the IPL’s UAE leg.
Meanwhile as per reports, few of the Indian team members and support staff had attended a book launch event and many speculate it is from that public gathering that Shastri would have contacted the virus.
Also, few members of the England side have claimed that they spotted a few Indian players roaming around the streets of Manchester instead of staying at their team hotel.
