Subscribe
Follow Us
India suffered a major setback to their chances of winning the Test series in England after their premier spinner Ravichandran Ashwin tested positive for COVID1-19 and missed his flight to the United Kingdom (UK) a couple of days ago, The Indian Express reported. Moreover, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) hasn't made a public announcement about R Ashwin being infected with the contagious disease and there's no confirmation on whether the off-spin bowler would fly to England to participate in the rescheduled fifth Test against the Ben Stokes-led side. The Test match is scheduled to take place at Edgbaston, Birmingham, from July 1. The Indian cricket team, including captain Rohit Sharma, senior batter Virat Kohli, and pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah flew to London last week.
As per BCCI rules, all cricketers, and support staff had to take a mandatory RT-PCR Test before boarding the flight to the British capital. Unlike other cricketers, R Ashwin's result came out positive and he is currently in isolation at home in Chennai.
R Ashwin was rested from the just-concluded five-match T20I series against South Africa at home. But he participated in the first division games organised by his state association (TNCA) in Tamil Nadu.
Playing for his local team Mylapore Recreation Club MRC ‘A’, R Ashwin guided them to their maiden first division title triumph. His decision to feature in the event came as a surprise to many, considering that he was back in action only a week after turning up for the Rajasthan Royals (RR) in the Indian Premier League (IPL) final against the Gujarat Titans (GT). RR lost that match to Hardik Pandya and his boys.
Ashwin, however, had explained that he chose to play the first division games because he wanted to acclimatise himself with the red ball ahead of the Test in England.
“The purpose of playing these games is to shift from 20 overs to this (red-ball) format. All these things are workload management. As you grow older, you play smarter. I am trying to do that. I am enjoying my game. I just want to go there (England) and take it as it comes. I feel I can contribute with the bat and bowl well. I want to keep ticking on my fitness and keep working,” R Ashwin had said.
India had refused to take the field for the fifth Test in England in 2021 after several COVID-19 cases emerged in their dressing room. Then coach Ravi Shastri and the physiotherapist of the team had returned positive tests at the time and the team's members didn't want to play the match.
Article Continues Below
BCCI secretary Jay Shah later confirmed that the Indian and English boards had jointly decided to cancel the fifth Test.
“The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) 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 cancelled Test match. Both the Boards will work towards finding a window to reschedule this Test match,” the BCCI had said in a statement.
Coming back to India's preparations for the fifth Test. The players were seen having their first net session at Edgbaston on Monday.
Meanwhile, head coach Rahul Dravid has warned the Indian cricket team against any kind of complacency creeping in, especially when they are on the verge of winning their first Test series in England since 2007. India currently lead the series 2-1.
“In terms of the Test match, it is going to be exciting. For us, it is a one-off Test match, but it’s World Test Championship (WTC) points. It’s a series on the line for the guys who played a part in it (last year), and they are very keen to try and win that series and do well. So looking forward to that,” Rahul Dravid said in a press conference on Sunday.
“It is always lovely to play a Test match in England; the crowds are going to be fantastic. You expect really good crowds in England when you play Test cricket there. And England is playing really well at the moment. I mean they are playing some really good cricket. It’s probably a bit different to when we were there last year when England was probably a little bit on the back foot. But they have played a couple of good games (against New Zealand), and we have got a pretty good squad as well. Hopefully, it will be a good match. I love watching Test cricket, love playing it, love coaching it. Looking forward to it,” concluded Dravid.
