England players furious over cancellation of 5th Test, two big names to pull out of UAE leg of IPL 2021: Reports

England players furious over cancellation of 5th Test, two big names to pull out of UAE leg of IPL 2021: Reports

England Cricket Team

The final Test between England and India has been cancelled due to the chances of more coronavirus cases in the visitors’ camp. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) took this decision of cancellation on mutual grounds.

It all started when head coach Ravi Shastri tested positive for the virus during the fourth Test match at The Oval along with bowling coach Bharath Arun, fielding coach R Sridhar and physiotherapist Nitin Patel. Recently, India’s assistant physio Yogesh Parmar had also shown positive results for COVID-19.

With as many as five cases being reported in the side, the pre-match press conference, as well as optional practice session, was called off. And the players continued to isolate themselves in their respective hotel rooms before the final game of the five-match Test series was called off.

Jonny Bairstow, Dawid Malan withdraw from second leg of IPL 2021

Jonny Bairstow in IPL 2021
Jonny Bairstow

The English players are furious with the Indian management following the postponement of the Manchester Test as per a report in The Sun. The report suggests that the Indian players were found roaming in Manchester instead of isolating in their respective rooms due to the Covid-19 scare in the camp.

While reports earlier suggested that some English players were considering withdrawing from IPL 2021. As per Cricbuzz, the correct number of players who have pulled out of IPL 2021 is two, as Jonny Bairstow and Dawid Malan won’t land in UAE for the second leg of the cash-rich league.

While Malan had featured only in a single game in the first half of IPL 2021, Bairstow was Sunriser Hyderabad‘s go-to opener and his withdrawal comes as a huge shock for the already struggling side. On the other hand, the move opens up a spot for former skipper David Warner to return to the team after a forgetful outing in the first half of the tournament.

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

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