Don’t tell me the Test was canceled for any other reason but the IPL: Michael Vaughan

Don’t tell me the Test was canceled for any other reason but the IPL: Michael Vaughan

The Indian cricket team has been hogging all the limelight lately but for all the wrong reasons. India and England were scheduled to play the five-match Test series from August 4 to September 14. However, the visitors shocked the entire cricket fraternity by denying to participate in the last Test.

There was a Covid-19 scare in the visitors’ camp as the head coach Ravi Shastri tested positive for coronavirus on the penultimate day of the fourth Test match. The same was followed by the bowling coach Bharat Arun, fielding coach R Sridhar returning a positive result. The head physio Nitin Patel was also asked to quarantine himself. 

Meanwhile, the trouble began when the junior physio Yogesh Parmar tested positive just a day before the commencement of the fifth Test. The outbreak of the deadly virus caused fear in the Indian camp and many players seemed reluctant on taking the field in Manchester.

Michael Vaughan slams Indian team

Michael Vaughan
Joe Root and Virat Kohli

Thus, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) decided to cancel the match. Though India is leading the series by 2-1, the fate of the five-match series is yet to be decided. Just a day after the cancelation of the fifth Test, it was revealed that the UK-bound Indian players will have to practice six-day isolation upon their arrival in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

Notably, the second phase of IPL 2021 kickstarts on September 19 in UAE. The same has raised a lot of eyebrows in the cricket fraternity as many believe that the Indian players refused to participate in the last Test to reach UAE on time. Former England skipper Michael Vaughan also took to his official Twitter handle to pose a serious allegation on the Indian contingent. 

“IPL teams chartering planes .. 6 days quarantining required in the UAE .. 7 days till the tournament starts !!!! Don’t tell me the Test was canceled for any other reason but the IPL,” Vaughan tweeted.

Also Read: ENG vs IND: Team India signed a midnight letter to urge BCCI to cancel the 5th Test