Covid concerns cancel India-England final cricket Test at Old Trafford

The fifth and final Test between India and England has been cancelled due to a "further increase in the number of Covid cases" inside the Indian camp.

"Following ongoing conversations with the BCCI, the ECB can confirm that the fifth LV= Insurance Test between England and India Men due to start today at Emirates Old Trafford will be cancelled," an English Cricket Board (ECB) said in a statement.

It added: "Due to fears of a further increase in the number of Covid cases inside the camp, India are regrettably unable to field a team.

"We send our sincere apologies to fans and partners for this news, which we know will cause immense disappointment and inconvenience to many."

Ahead of the fifth and final Test against England, physio Yogesh Parmar tested positive for Covid-19 in Manchester.

However, there were no Covid-19 related worries in the England camp, and Jos Buttler earlier said everything was fine and the hosts were looking forward to the game.

This came after India head coach Ravi Shastri, bowling coach Bharat Arun and fielding coach R. Sridhar returned positive results to their RT-PCR tests during the fourth Test. They are currently undergoing isolation and can come out only after returning two negative results.

On September 5, just half an hour before the start of play on Day 4 of the fourth Test at the Oval in London, the Broad of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) said its medical team had isolated Shastri, Bharat Arun, Sridhar, and physio Nitin Patel as a precautionary measure after Shastri's lateral flow test returned positive.

The remaining members of the Team India contingent had undergone two Lateral Flow Tests. Upon returning negative Covid reports, the members were allowed to proceed for Day 4 of the fourth Test at The Oval against England.

(ANI)