uterti-com

Just another WordPress site

England Vs India: Finally COVID-19 makes a mess in the final test!

England Vs India: Finally COVID-19 makes a mess in the final test!

The fifth and final Test match between the hosts England and the visiting India was awaited by cricket lovers with much excitement with India taking an unbeatable 2-1 lead by winning the fourth Test at the Oval, because the Indian fans wanted their team sealed the series victory. while the England fans wanted their team to bounce back and win the Test to share final honours. However, all of them were very disappointed. As soon as the India team’s junior physio tested positive for COVID-19 on Thursday 9th September 2012, one day before the fifth Test began at Old Trafford, utter and clueless uncertainty enveloped the match; Head coach Ravi Shastri and possibly one or two members of the team management, including the senior physio (unconfirmed), were already in isolation and tested positive before the fourth test. The practice session for India that day was cancelled.

With a physio obviously having to engage with players ‘physically’, there were risks of players becoming infected if the match was allowed to continue, with many Indian cricket mandarins having the prospect of IPL-2021 starting in nine days on their minds. Perhaps worrying about the health of English players, some of whom will also play in the IPL followed by the ICC T20 World Cup, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) asked the Indian BCCI Board to lose the fifth game which meant that in that eventuality the Series would be considered tied 2-2. It was also instinctive on his part, as no one would want their team to, so to speak, give up the Series without a fight. The two respective Boards engaged in seemingly endless deliberations with no communication with the players.

On Friday 10 September 2021, the day the match was due to start, the ECB slightly changed its earlier statement, now saying that India was unable to field a team due to the physiotherapist’s infection and the match was cancelled. The Indian Board also said that, fearing a rise in infections among players, the match had to be cancelled. Meanwhile, all the Indian players have been tested and tested negative for COVID. Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma reportedly objected to the match being cancelled; although some other report said they secretly wrote to the BCCI expressing concern about more infections, because they felt the current ‘COVID negative’ status could easily change over the course of two or three days. However, the Boards took a long time to decide, announcing that the fifth Test was canceled just two hours before the scheduled start. Even the players of both teams did not know about it beforehand.

Now, the verdict of the Series in favor of India has been the most important question. If the rains had wiped out the match, India would have won the series without a doubt, but while the pandemic is also a natural calamity, the point is to take precautions and follow strict protocols, and some in the English camp felt that the Indians were not ready. careful enough. However, we feel that it is really unfortunate that the Series took place at a time when England decided to live with the virus after vaccinating most of its citizens, and the matches were completely open to spectators who neither they were not even asked to wear masks. and in such a situation, players or non-playing members could easily be infected when moving through the crowd on several occasions, at least while moving around the pavilion stand. There was a soft bubble and from time to time the necessary tests were done; and therefore it is not correct to blame the Indian camp for its alleged lack of proper precautions.

It was also reported that the ICC would intervene and make the final decision on the official result of the Test Series. Perhaps to avoid an imbroglio or any injustice to any team, the two boards ultimately decided to reschedule the test sometime next year as there was almost no time left now that IPL-2021 would start nine days after the all-important ICC World Cup. T20. 2021 in United Arab Emirates. But the issue is far from settled, for if the solitary fifth Test is to be run as a stand-alone or one-off match, how will it count as part of the 2021 England Vs India Test Series? was not considered apart, so it must now be declared that India won the Series with the 2-1 lead achieved after winning the fourth match.

Of course, if IPL-2021 can be divided into two halves, the first part has already been played in places in India and the other half in places in the UAE, in different time periods with the same points and league rankings. , why not apply the same rule here? also: holding the canceled or rather now postponed fifth Test at any time in 2022 in England and treating it as part of the 2021 Test Series, the outcome of which would ultimately decide the verdict of the Series. According to the latest international cricket calendar, India is supposed to visit England again in 2022. There is an additional aspect to the problem: the ECB will lose around £40m in broadcast rights and hospitality sponsorships from the cancellation of the fifth Test and Therefore, it would be in the Board’s interest to reschedule the game and treat it as part of the current Series.

Money game or money challenge is everywhere in the game of cricket. Ideally, the series should have naturally been decided in India’s favor and the players should have flown home immediately to give them much-needed rest and prepare them well for the T20 World Cup. But no, the IPL must be completed for the same monetary stakes for the Indian Board. Another ideal alternative would have been to reschedule the fifth Test in a week’s time, depending on the situation, postponing IPL-2021 to take place after the World Cup. But not again, for the same reasons; what is at stake involves not only the Indian Board but a large part of the international cricketers and cricket boards. So let’s wait and watch, and enjoy what’s on offer.

Finally, the pandemic is far from over and must be taken seriously. Cricket matches must continue to be held under a strict bubble and behind closed doors. Furthermore, it is inhumane to keep cricketers in a bubble-to-bubble scenario and mandatory isolation plus endless testing for more than a year. Regardless of what is at stake in cricket, matches must be held with all humanitarian angles in mind.

Related Posts

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *