Fifth and final Test is scheduled to start from Friday at Old Trafford in Manchester. (FILE)The India-England fifth Test match at Manchester was put in doubt after a Team India support staff tested positive for Covid. The final game of the series, that India leads 2-1, was to start on Friday. This comes days after coaches Ravi Shastri, Bharat Arun and R Sridhar were forced into quarantine in London and missed the fourth Test at The Oval.
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.
It is learnt that the BCCI, after talking to the team in Manchester, isn’t keen to go ahead with the Test. With the IPL to start on September 19, they didn’t want the tournament to be impacted.
Pre-match eve practice cancelled
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.
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