The fifth and final Test against England at Manchester has been called off amid the crunch time of COVID-19. However, the decision came in place when the Indian cricket team’s refused to play in the Test following their staff member getting affected which made the relation between the two teams strained as well.
While most of the English cricket fraternity are criticising the visitors, a few are reportedly even looking to pull out from the second phase of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021 which will soon take place in the UAE. And, as per the sources of Evening Standard, Jonny Bairstow, Chris Woakes and Dawid Malan have withdrawn from IPL 2021.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and England & Wales Cricket Board (ECB) share a good relationship with each other. However, India’s withdrawal from the Old Trafford match, just a couple of hours before the toss, left many surprised as well.
In a statement confirming the same, ECB wrote: “Following ongoing conversations with the BCCI, the ECB can confirm that the fifth LV= Insurance Test between England and India Men due to start today at Emirates Old Trafford, will be canceled. Due to fears of a further increase in the number of COVID cases inside the camp, India is regrettably unable to field a team. We send our sincere apologies to fans and partners for this news.”
England player likely to pull out from IPL 2021
As per the earlier report in The Sun, some players of the England team claim that they had even spotted the Indian players roaming around in Manchester on Thursday while they were supposed to stay inside their hotel rooms as the deadly virus hit the camp.
On the other hand, the BCCI is currently working on the players’ departure from the UK to UAE. Meanwhile, 5 England Test players were also supposed to participate in the T20 league – Jonny Bairstow, Sam Curran, Moeen Ali, Dawid Malan and Chris Woakes whereas three of them have reportedly pulled out from IPL because of the Test’s cancellation as well. However, they were supposed to travel to the UAE with the Indian players and serve 6 days of quarantine upon their arrival as well as per the COVID-19 guidelines.
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