Indian cricket Head Coach Ravi Shastri tests Covid positive, stays off Oval match

Indian cricket coach Ravi Shastri returned a positive result to RT-PCR tests for Covid-19. Bowling coach Bharat Arun and fielding coach R. Sridhar, who were already in isolation as a precautionary measure over the weekend, have also tested positive for coronavirus.

All three will now have to miss not only the remainder of the fourth Test match at the Oval in London but also the final Test in the series at Old Trafford in Manchester.

According to sources in the know of the developments, the trio returned positive results following initial Lateral Flow tests (LFTs).

"Unfortunately, their RT-PCR test results are positive, and they will all need to undergo isolation and can come out only after returning two negative results," the source was quoted as saying.

Just half an hour before the start of play on Day 4 on September 5, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced that its medical team had isolated Shastri, Bharat Arun, Sridhar, and physio Nitin Patel as a precautionary measure after Shastri's LFT returned positive on September 4.

The remaining members of the Team India contingent led by captain Virat Kohli had undergone two LFTs and were allowed to proceed for Day 4 at the Oval against England following negative results.

Meanwhile, the fourth Test in the five-match series against England has been quite the entertainer, with both teams putting up an impressive show at the Oval over the weekend. On the final day of the match on September 6, England was faced with chasing one of its biggest Test scores as India set the hosts a target of 368.

(ANI)