ENGvsIND: Players refused to play after physio Parmer tested covid positive: Sourav Ganguly

ENGvsIND: Former Indian cricketer and BCCI president Sourav Ganguly opens up on the cancellation of the fifth test match against England following the covid outburst in the Indian camp. Several theories were constructed regarding the cancellation of the test match, however, Ganguly denied all those claims. He stated, Players refused to play after assistant physio Yogesh Parmer’s report turned positive and the board can’t blame them.

The media reports from the UK along with several former England cricketers alleged India for prioritising IPL more than Test cricket which resulted in the fifth test call off. The stories further covered that the Indian board runs behind money and the cash-rich Indian T20 league is always their area of concern.

Shedding curtains on all the allegations, speaking to The Telegraph, Ganguly asserted that the Indian cricketers feared contracting Covid after their assistant physio Yogesh Parmer was tested covid positive on the eve of the fifth test match.

“No, no, the BCCI will never be an irresponsible board. We value other boards too,” Ganguly was quoted as saying by The Telegraph when asked whether IPL played a role in the calling off of the fifth Test.

Parmer, the only physio left with the Indian team, had also tested positive and Indians were left stranded for the final test match. Moreover, he was in close contact with almost all Indian players including the likes of Rohit Sharma, Cheteshwar Pujara, Mohammad Shami and Ishant Sharma who sustained minor niggles during the fourth test match.

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“The players refused to play but you can’t blame them. Physio Yogesh Parmar was such a close contact of the players. Being the only one available after Nitin Patel isolated himself, he mixed freely with the players and even performed their COVID-19 tests. He also used to give them a massage, he was part of their everyday lives…. The players were devastated when they came to know that he had tested positive for COVID-19,” Ganguly said.

Sourav Ganguly wants fifth test to be part of test series, ECB denies:

The BCCI wants the standalone Manchester Test to be part of the five matches test series, which will be rescheduled at a later date, while the ECB is asserting to wrap the test series and schedule the test match as an independent fixture.

ECB has also written to the ICC’s Dispute Resolution Committee (DRC) in similar regards. The fate of the test match is in ICC’s hands now. Several rounds of hearings will be arranged to get to the final verdict.

If ICC concludes it as COVID-19 cancellation, the test series will go in India’s bag with 2-1 lead and no compensation will be provided to the Lancashire County Cricket Club, however, if it goes in ECB’s favour, the insurance of around GBP 40 Million will be provided to cover the loss along with one match point to neutralise India’s lead.

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