ENG vs IND: Day 1 of the Manchester Test postponed by two days


ENG vs IND: Day 1 of the Manchester Test postponed by two days

Joe Root and Virat Kohli

In a big development, Day 1 of the fifth and ultimate Test match of the ongoing series between England and India has been postponed by two days. According to several reports published in English media, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) took this decision to postpone the Manchester Test. 

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Earlier, reports were suggesting some players being uncomfortable with the start of the 5th Test due to the COVID-19 outbreak in the Indian camp. Even some Indian cricketers were reluctant to take the field after finding themselves in close contact with at least one of those who tested positive for the novel coronavirus.

The fiasco started on social media when several reputed journalists and cricketer Dinesh Karthik hinted about the postponement of the upcoming Test. However, the match was set to take place as per schedule till last night, confirmed by the BCCI and ECB.

Indian players undergo another round of RT-PCR Tests

India vs England
Indian Test Team

Each member of the Indian squad had gone through a fresh series of RT-PCR tests with reports awaited. According to ANI, the fate of the 5th Test between India and England will be decided after the results of these COVID-19 tests will come, which were taken on Thursday.

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Earlier, the pre-match press conference, as well as optional practice session, was called off as team India’s assistant physio Yogesh Parmar tested positive for COVID-19. Hence, the players continued to isolate themselves in their respective hotel rooms.

India’s head coach Ravi Shastri was also found positive for this disease during the Oval Test match. Apart from him, bowling coach Bharath Arun, fielding coach R Sridhar and physiotherapist Nitin Patel were also isolated for being close contacts to Shastri.

The BCCI also have time constraints ahead of them as the players need to fly for the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to participate in the second phase of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021. The cash-rich is scheduled from September 19 onwards with the clash between Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and Mumbai Indians (MI).

Also Read | IND vs ENG: ECB looking for a walkover in final Test, Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma in no mood to relent – Reports

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Also Read | ENG vs IND: Indian players test negative for Covid-19