ENG vs IND: Manchester Test called off due to COVID-19

The fifth Test between England and India has been called off after a string of COVID-19 cases in the Indian camp. Days after head coach Ravi Shastri, bowling coach Bharat Arun, fielding coach R Sridhar and physiotherapist Nitin Patel tested positive for COVID-19, assistance physio Yogesh Parmar also tested positive for the COVID-19 yesterday, which put the fate of the match in jeopardy.

Even though the Indian players tested negative for the virus, after which the match was set to go ahead, it was reported that several Indian players were not keen to play the Manchester Test due to the fears of further spread of the virus. The news of the match getting called off was confirmed by ECB.

“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 cancelled. India are unable to field a team and will instead regrettably forfeit the match. We send our sincere apologies to fans and partners for this news, which we know will cause immense disappointment and inconvenience to many,” read a report from ECB.

However, there is no official confirmation on the scoreline of the series.  Earlier, England in its statement had said that India forfeit the match, which would have given the points to England and the series would have stood at 2-2. However, they later updated their tweet and removed the word forfeit. If the match is cancelled, it will go down as No result and India will be declared winners of the series by 2-1.