BCCI president Sourav Ganguly has stated that the Indian players refused to play the fifth and final Test vs England at Manchester only because of COVID-19 concerns.
The board president denied that the upcoming Indian Premier League (IPL) had played any part in the decision.
“The players refused to play but you can’t blame them. Physio Yogesh Parmar was such a close contact of 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� 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,” Ganguly was quoted as saying by The Telegraph.
The five-match Test series between England and India is currently lead by India 2-1 and both the boards are finding a way out to get the conclusion of the series after the fifth Test was cancelled.
“The BCCI will never be an irresponsible board. We value other boards too,” Ganguly said.
