Manchester Test Called Off: English Media Slam Coach Ravi Shastri, Level Serious Allegations Against Team India

On Wednesday night, physiotherapist Yogesh Parma tested Covid positive to join coach Ravi Shastri and two other members of his staff in isolation.

New Delhi: The English media slammed Team India head coach Ravi Shastri over "bio-bubble" breach, after the fifth Test match to be played between India and England at Manchester was called off on Friday.   

In a joint decision, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) and the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) decided to call off the Test following Covid scare as Indian players feared a potential coronavirus outbreak, though all the players had tested negative.

Earlier this week, head coach Ravi Shastri and two other members of the Indian contingent tested positive for Covid-19 and isolated in the team hotel. On Wednesday night, physiotherapist Yogesh Parma tested positive too.

After the match was called off, the British media came down heavily on Shastri and also levelled some serious allegations against Indian players.

"Why have India refused to play if not a single player has tested positive? India's players are desperate not to miss the resumption of the lucrative Indian Premier League in the UAE from September 19. It seems they took the precaution of cancelling their pre-match training session and isolating in their hotel rooms to this end," Daily Mail said in a report.

It added: "Indian head coach Ravi Shastri had tested positive after attending a busy book launch in a London hotel, along with the entire Indian squad. The ECB were already fuming about a decision which, they believed, jeopardised the Manchester Test, and this morning there were suggestions that members of the touring party were seen out and about in Manchester yesterday - despite promises from the BCCI after the book-launch controversy that they would tighten their protocols ahead of the fifth Test." 

BBC speculated that the upcoming Indian Pemier League (IPL) might have something to do with this match being cancelled.

"This is quite bizarre because last night the players all passed their PCR tests. We went to bed thinking the match would go ahead," the BBC correspondent wrote.

"I suspect the IPL would have a lot to do with this. It starts in 10 days' time. The players are on huge contacts. The IPL is worth £300m to the BCCI. They are desperate to protect their product and the players protect their contracts. This stands to cost the ECB £20m, one assumes there would be some negotiations about that with the BCCI. It is a shame Covid has interfered with a brilliant series."

(With IANS inputs)