NEW DELHI, Sept 9: Doubt is cast on holding of the India – England fifth and final cricket test match scheduled to begin from Friday at Manchester in view of Corona infection to four support staff of the Indian team who have been isolated mid-way through the fourth test.
India is currently leading 2-1 in the test series with one test match drawn.
The series-deciding fifth Test between India and England, scheduled to start in Manchester on Friday, is in doubt with a member of India’s support staff having tested COVID-19 positive hours before the start of the match.
It is learnt that soon after India finished its Wednesday morning’s training at Old Trafford, physiotherapist Yogesh Parmar’s test returned positive during the evening’s testing.
As a result, India’s training session for Thursday has been cancelled and all the members of the contingent have been asked to be confined to their rooms until further notice.
With Parmar having helped multiple India players’ recovery sessions till Wednesday, India’s contingent is hoping the others haven’t been infected with the coronavirus.
Though none of the players were found to be positive yet, the further spread of the virus within the team cannot be ruled out since most of the cricketers were in close contact of the support staff all through the last Test. Following the positive test of the coaches last week, the entire team had undergone the RT-PCR test. The squad member who tested positive on Thursday was earlier negative.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is understood to have been keen on the abandonment of the Test. The aim was to ensure all the players would be available in time for the Indian Premier League’s (IPL’s) rescheduled second half, starting in United Arab Emirates from September 19. The fact that India leads the series 2-1 also puts the Indian contingent in a win-win scenario.
Parmar’s positive test takes the number of COVID-19 cases in India’s contingent to four, with head coach Ravi Shastri, bowling coach B. Arun and fielding coach R. Sridhar having been diagnosed COVID-19 positive during the fourth Test in London last week.
Nitin Patel, the senior physiotherapist, has been isolated in London since he was traced as a close contact of the three coaches.
It means that India’s squad will not have a physiotherapist at its disposal should the Test go ahead after all the players returning negative tests.
India’s team practice was cancelled for Thursday, a day ahead of the start of the fifth Test. Players were strongly advised to stick to their rooms and not step out or meet each other, as precaution against a breakout of infection.
The first to test positive was the head coach Ravi Shastri who is believed to have got the infection from a function to launch his book in which guests were allowed. Along with him three other support staff including Bharat Arun, R Sridhar and Nitin Patel who were in close contact with him were also isolated in the team hotel.
(Manas Dasgupta)
