Sunil Gavaskar on the postponement of the Manchester Test
Sunil Gavaskar, a former Indian cricketer and legend of the game, believes the BCCI and the ECB should work together to reschedule the fifth and final Test at Old Trafford in Manchester. Due to COVID-19 worries in the Indian camp, the cricket match had to be postponed indefinitely. Things went wrong after India’s second physio Yogesh Parmar tested positive for the virus on Wednesday.
After India’s practise session was cancelled, the Test cricket match was also cancelled. Gavaskar used the example of England’s tour of India in 2008, when the horrible Mumbai attacks occurred, to illustrate his point. The British team, led by Kevin Pietersen, left India on November 28 after the incident, and the last two ODIs in Guwahati and Delhi had to be cancelled.
The updates that were coming in with regards to the five-match of the Test series that was eventually postponed indefinitely
The Three Lions, on the other hand, returned for the two-match Test series after one of the matches was moved from Mumbai to Chennai. Gavaskar stated that Team India should remember England’s antics at the moment of difficulty.
The Indian legend talked about the incident that had happened in India and how England had reacted to it. It was a moment of praise and inspiration. However, this was something completely different and the call should have been of Virat Kohli and co. Despite that, there was no proper decision taken right till the very end. It could have hurt the players mentally, in case some of them tested positive for Covid-19.
Sunil Gavaskar takes a trip down memory lane and talks on Sony Sports Network about the whole incident and the right solution to the problem
“As Indians, we must never forget how the England team came back to India. That was after the 2008 Terrorist attacks in Mumbai. They would have been absolutely entitled to say, ‘We are not comfortable to come back’.”
“As a result, we must never forget that Kevin Pietersen was the captain. He was the key guy of the squad. If KP had replied, ‘No, I do not want to travel,’ the trip would have ended then. It was because KP persuaded the rest to come, we had that amazing Test match in Chennai. It was when India chased down 380 on Day 5 to win.”
Gavaskar, one of India’s best top-order batsmen, remarked, “That generosity of the ECB must be remembered.”
Ravi Shastri, the Indian team’s head coach, had previously tested positive for COVID-19. He and other players of the national squad attended the book launch two days before the fourth Test at the Kennington Oval in London.
According to rumours, the BCCI was not pleased with Shastri and his colleagues attending the book launch. The COVID-19 protocols were not fully implemented at the event, which drew about 150 individuals. This was the main reason why the problems actually started within the Indian camp.
What next for the Indian players and the Indian side, as the cricketing season continues and has a lot of action remaining?
The Indian players that were playing in England have now made the trip to the UAE. That is for the second phase of the Indian Premier League, which will be starting from the 19th of September. The fans and players are really excited that the tournament will be resumed shortly. This will be the last edition of the tournament with eight teams.
Next season onwards, the BCCI is keen on having ten teams. That would mean more cricket, which would be great for the lovers of the game. The fans of the respective teams and top players have been really patient right through the year. The focus has been on reducing the impact of the pandemic and the total number of cases in order to get the sport back on track.
With that being said, right after the end of the IPL, the Indian squad will start preparing for the upcoming edition of the T20 World Cup that is to be held in the middle-east too. India will be one of the top contenders to compete for the trophy. However, whether they can actually make a major impact or not, remains to be seen in the upcoming days.
