The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) along with the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) have jointly decided to call off the 5th Test Match scheduled at Manchester in ongoing India’s tour of England 2021.
“The BCCI and ECB held several rounds of discussion to find a way to play the Test Match, however, the outbreak of Covid-19 in the Indian team contingent forced the decision of calling off the Old Trafford Test Match.
“In lieu of the strong relationship between BCCI and ECB, the BCCI has offered to ECB a rescheduling of the cancelled Test match. Both the Boards will work towards finding a window to reschedule this Test match.
“The BCCI has always maintained that the safety and well-being of the players is of paramount importance and there will be no comprise on that aspect,” the official statement said.
Before India travelled to Manchester, Ravi Shastri, Bharat Arun and R Sridhar had already tested positive in London.
To make matters worse, on Thursday, India’s physiology, Yogesh Parmar tested positive for COVID-19 which led to concerns around the welfare of everyone and the fate of the Test.
This has led to a debate on the technicalities of whether India has forfeited the game or will it be re-scheduled.
If it’s a forfeiture, England will be deemed to have won the Test and the series will stand at 2-2.
However, according to the VP of the BBCI, “Negotiations are taking place. There is no question of forfeiting the Test match.”
So it looks like the situation is very fluid right now. Watch this space for more details.