NEWS
Follow UsWhile England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) are speculated to go to ICC's dispute resolution committee for a consensus on the Old Trafford Test, which had to be cancelled after Indian players complaint of fear following positive Covid-19 cases in the camp, Sourav Ganguly has stated that the Test stands cancelled. Ganguly added that whenever a one-off Test between England and India will be played, it would be a one-off match since it cannot be a continuation of the series anymore.
"The Old Trafford Test has been cancelled. They (ECB) have incurred a lot of losses and it's not going to be easy on [them]. Let things settle down a bit, then we can discuss and decide. Whenever it's held next year, it should be a one-off match since it cannot be a continuation of the series anymore," Ganguly told Kolkata-based Telegraph.
"The players refused to play but you can't blame them. Physio Yogesh Parmar was close contact with 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," Ganguly said.
"The players were devastated when they came to know that he had tested positive for Covid-19. They feared they must have contracted the disease and were dead scared. It's not easy staying in a bubble. Of course, you have to respect their feelings."
While Ravi Shastri had come under fire for attending his book launch and has been termed as the Patient Zero, Ganguly defended him citing bubble fatigue. Tom Harrison, ECB chief executive, also attended the event and had earlier stated that players are not part of the bubble anymore. The ECB were following the UK Government policy of opening up the country and had a basic bubble in place.
"How long can you stay confined to your hotel rooms? Can you stay locked at your home day in and day out? You can't be restricted to a life where you go from the hotel to the ground and return to the hotel. This is humanly not possible.
"You can't stay in a bubble forever. Life has to open up. These players and support staff have been in a bubble for more than a year now. It's no joke. It's very demanding physically and mentally. They are human beings and it's unfortunate. From the UK, the players are already in another bubble in the UAE [for the IPL]. Another round of quarantine, another bubble.… Then there will be the bubble for the T20 World Cup. It's not easy," the former Indian skipper added.