The BCCI (Board of Control for Cricket in India) has reportedly expressed its displeasure towards India head coach Ravi Shastri and captain Virat Kohli as the duo, along with other members of the touring team, attended a crowded book launch event in London last week.
Shastri, who had tested positive for COVID-19 earlier this week, shared the stage with Kohli at the event on Tuesday last week, and as per BCCI sources, no prior permission was sought by the Indian team for attending the event.
Speaking to IANS, a BCCI official said that it all started with “one breach”. “One mistake can make things difficult for everybody. The coach and the captain went out for a book launch and here we are seeing Covid cases within the team. This is scary,” the official added.
TOI quoted a top BCCI official as saying that “the board will probe the matter” and that the coach and the captain will be asked to explain the circumstances after the fourth Test at Oval.”
Besides, reports from the British media indicated that no clearance was sought from the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB).
“Thankfully the nightmare scenario was avoided on Thursday night when it emerged all the players’ PCR tests had come back negative. But it is a narrow escape for the game and clearly India coaches and players were irresponsible to attend a book launch at a London hotel outside their bubble, as revealed by Sportsmail, two days before the fourth Test at the Oval,” the Daily Mail reported.
There were speculations over the fate of the fifth Test between India and England at Manchester on Friday after junior physio Yogesh Parmar had tested positive for COVID-19 on Thursday. And while the Indian cricket team had tested negative for COVID-19, the ECB on Friday confirmed that the match has been cancelled.
from Firstpost Sports Latest News https://ift.tt/38TsDcf
via IFTTT
