The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) decided to call off the final Test of the bilateral series between India and England. The decision was made after BCCI was unable to field a team due to fears of an increase in the number of COVID cases in the Indian squad.
The cancellation of the match resulted in losses up to over seven figures for the hosts Lancashire Cricket.
The ECB later released a statement that said, “Due to fears of a further increase in the number of Covid cases inside the camp, India are regrettably unable to field a team. We send our sincere apologies to fans and partners for this news, which we know will cause immense disappointment and inconvenience to many. Further information will be shared in due course.”
Indian coach Ravi Shastri tested positive during the 4th test at The Oval and has been quarantining with the bowling coach Bharat Arun, fielding coach R Sridhar and physiotherapist Nitin Patel.
Lancashire Cricket’s executive, Daniel Gidney, said, “As a club, we are absolutely devastated about the late cancellation of the Test at Emirates Old Trafford, we’d like to unreservedly apologize to ticket holders and all those that have or are due to travel to Emirates Old Trafford. A full refund will be issued, but we appreciate for many supporters, attending this Test match is more than just the monetary worth. After the last 18 months, we’ve all experienced through the pandemic, it’s a fixture cricket fans in the North West have looked forward to for the best part of 18 months.”
Gidney also added that the loss was over seven figures, multi-million pounds.
If the number of cases increases in the Indian camp, it would put the conduct of phase 2 of IPL 2021 in trouble, which is scheduled to start from September 19.