England players withdraw from the IPL 2021 season post Manchester Test postponement
Due to the COVID-19 threat, the fifth and final Test match between England and India was cancelled, as confirmed by the cricket news coming in. Yogesh Parmar, a junior physiotherapist, tested positive just one day before the start of the Manchester Test. He did, however, respond negative after a few hours. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and the England Cricket Board (ECB) agreed to call off the match after much debate.
The cricket match was originally only postponed by one day because India worried they wouldn’t be able to field their strongest potential XI. Also on the horizon was the second half of the 14th season of the Indian Premier League (IPL), and the BCCI may have considered the big picture. However, according to sources in The Sun, English players are dissatisfied with the cancellation of the Old Trafford match, and at least one player is considering withdrawing from the IPL’s UAE leg.
What happened after the postponement of the final (fifth) Test match between England and India?
It was being rumoured that one of the IPL’s England players was refusing to play in the T20 competition in the UAE. This revelation was expected to have an impact on the respective franchise’s team combinations. That was, as all eight teams will be looking to give it their best in the second half of the IPL, which begins on September 19.
Since Ravi Shastri and his two support staff tested positive for COVID-19 before the start of the fourth Test, the relationship between the England and India boards has been strained. While the Leeds game went over without a hitch, the allegations against Shastri and captain Virat Kohli have continued. Apparently, just a few members of the Indian team and support personnel attended a book launch event. Many believe Shastri contracted the illness at that public gathering.
Several members of the England squad alleged that they saw several Indian players roaming the streets of Manchester. That was instead of remaining at their team hotel, according to sources in The Sun.
The BCCI has decided to send the IPL players to the UAE post the sudden conclusion of the Test series in England with talks of an updated plan being suggested for next year
At the outset of the Test series, the BCCI had arranged bubble procedures and promised bubble-to-bubble transfers from the United Kingdom to the United Arab Emirates. It is also making preparations for the players’ departure. Jonny Bairstow, Dawid Malan, Moeen Ali, Chris Woakes, and Sam Curran are among the Test players participating in the IPL. One of these five players was said to be adamant about not taking the journey to the UAE.
Further, the latest update confirmed that Jonny Bairstow, Dawid Malan and Chris Woakes decided to back out from the tournament. They were sceptical of taking part, with the T20 World Cup just around the corner. That is surely understandable and is a concern of their respective boards too.
The teams want to put in a serious challenge in the upcoming competition too. For that purpose, they are trying to keep a fit squad and train as hard as possible. England is surely one of the favourites to challenge for the title. They are currently the 50-over World Cup holders and will want to win the tournament of the shorter format of the game as well.
The postponement of the Manchester Test left a bad taste between the ECB and the BCCI
The fact that the fifth Test match between the two teams was cancelled did not go down well between the two teams’ boards. The English board was not happy that this game in Manchester had been cancelled due to the Covid scare. Further, it was also to do with poor planning and the second phase of the IPL tournament.
It all fell apart when Ravi Shastri and Virat Kohli, along with some other members of the Indian camp decided to attend a book release. This may have done some serious damage, with the ECB losing a good amount of money. They had to refund the fans who had bought the tickets to the game. It was expected to be a full-house. However, surely the BCCI will find a way to compensate them.
