Cricket / England claim Indian players were spotted in a store in Manchester on Thursday: Reports

Zoom News : Sep 11, 2021, 05:48 PM
Cricket Desk: The Indian cricket team's refusal to feature in the 5th and final Test against England at Manchester has strained relationships between the two teams. While many in the English cricket fraternity are criticising Virat Kohli & Co., some are reportedly even looking to pull out from the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and England & Wales Cricket Board (ECB) have had a healthy relationship with each other. However, after Team India's 11th-hour withdrawal from the Old Trafford match, many English cricketers are said to be left unamused.

As per a report in The Sun, some members of the England team claim that they had even spotted the Indian players roaming around in Manchester on Thursday even though they were supposed to remain inside their hotel rooms due to the Covid-19 scenario in the camp.

The cancellation of the Test is said to cost the ECB and others involved in organising the match several millions of pounds. What has infuriated the hosts most is the fact that the match could've been deferred by a day or two if the resumption of IPL 2021 on September 19 wasn't at stake.

While the BCCI is busy planning its players' departure from the UK to UAE, 5 England Test players are also supposed to participate in the T20 league. At least one of those five players -- Jonny Bairstow, Sam Curran, Moeen Ali, Dawid Malan and Chris Woakes -- is said to be thinking of pulling out from IPL because of the 5th Test's cancellation.

The aforementioned five England players are supposed to travel to UAE with the Indian contingent and serve 6 days of quarantine upon their arrival.

At 6 PM on Thursday, the England cricket team were reportedly informed of the Indian team's availability for the match since all of them had tested negative for Covid-19. Later, however, they were informed of the players' unwillingness to go ahead with the match amid the risk of catching the virus.

Most of the English players even travelled to the ground to collect their kits while the spectators had also started to show up.

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