Posted by Indian head coach Ravi Shastri, skipper Virat Kohli and a few more associated with the Indian team were at a hotel in London which was packed with people for a book launch event.
There are several claims stating the Indian team didn’t sought clearance with either of the boards for the event, the BCCI are unhappy about the incident and so are the ECB, both boards are working together to see that the series goes ahead as planned with a test match more to be played in the 5 match test series.
All of this came to light after Indian team’s head coach Ravi Shastri’s lateral flow test before the play on day 4 (Sunday) of the Oval test had come positive and was quarantined, Bharat Arun (bowling coach), R. Sridhar (fielding coach) were identified as close contacts and on Monday returned positive test, Nitin Patel (Physiotherapist) too continues to remain in isolation.
AS IT HAPPENED (OVAL TEST) : https://wp.me/pd8tMB-lc
BCCI officials speaking to Times of India (TOI) stated “Photos from the event have been shared with BCCI officials. The board will probe the matter. This incident has left the board embarrassed. The coach and the captain will be asked to explain the circumstances after the fourth Test at Oval. The team’s administrative manager Girish Dongre’s role is also under the scanner.”
The BCCI official further stated, “The BCCI is in touch with ECB and trying to ensure the series is completed without any further incidents. As of now, everyone is hoping that Shastri recovers soon. There is a selection meeting for the T20 World Cup on Wednesday. Maybe the matter will be raised there.”
UPDATE : India’s squad for the T20 World Cup will be selected tomorrow.
The rest of the team had returned a couple of negative tests before taking field on day 4 of the test match, RT-PCR reports of the players and the members associated with the Indian team have come negative and by now multiple reports have come negative and the series is safe to go ahead as scheduled.
According to rules of the UK government, Ravi Shastri, R. Sridhar, Bharat Arun and Nitin Patel won’t be travelling to Manchester for the final test at Old Trafford.
“There will also be a proper bubble in Manchester as there’s IPL coming up in UAE five days after the fifth Test finishes. The players will have to move in a bubble to UAE, else they will have to serve quarantine period upon reaching Dubai. Hopefully, there won’t be any further incidents once the team enters the bubble,” the BCCI official stated.
Will be intresting to see how things turn out for India in absence of these senior men missing the game physically. Final test is a quick turnaround, mark your calendars for the 10th of September.
Bureau of sports 