The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has offered to reschedule the 5th Test match against England, which was called off a couple of hours back due to COVID-19 in the Indian team’s camp. As per BCCI, the board held several rounds of discussions with the England Cricket Board (ECB). Both the boards will look to find a window to complete the fixture, the BCCI said in its release.
The series stays at 2-1 with a decision awaited on the final Test as both boards look for a window. The Indian team will be back in the UK in July 2022 for a white ball series.
For now, the focus will mostly shift to the IPL as that is the next thing on the agenda for most of the players present at Old Trafford. The IPL’s remainder begins on 19 September in UAE and will be followed by the Men’s T20 World Cup in UAE in Oman from 17 October.
Here’s the BCCI statement from secretary Jay Shah:
The Board of Control for Cricket in India along with the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) have jointly decided to call off the 5th Test Match scheduled at Manchester in ongoing India’s tour of England 2021.
The BCCI and ECB held several rounds of discussion to find a way to play the Test Match, however, the outbreak of Covid-19 in the Indian team contingent forced the decision of calling off the Old Trafford Test Match.
In lieu of the strong relationship between BCCI and ECB, the BCCI has offered to ECB a rescheduling of the canceled Test match. Both the Boards will work towards finding a window to reschedule this Test match.
The BCCI has always maintained that the safety and well-being of the players are of paramount importance and there will be no comprised on that aspect.
The BCCI would like to thank the ECB for their co-operation and understanding in these trying times. We would like to apologize to the fans for not being able to complete an enthralling series.
