Coronavirus has finally eclipsed India’s tour of England. The fifth Test match to be played at Manchester’s Old Trafford ground has been called off as Indian players refused to play Test after coach Ravi Shastri and support staff tested positive for coronavirus.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) along with the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) have jointly decided to call off the 5th Test Match scheduled at Manchester in ongoing India’s tour of England 2021.

The BCCI and ECB held several rounds of discussion to find a way to play the Test Match, however, the outbreak of Covid-19 in the Indian team contingent forced the decision of calling off the Old Trafford Test Match.

The England and Wales Cricket Board has informed about the cancellation of the match. The ECB says that the players of the Indian team have refused to play in the Manchester Test due to the threat of coronavirus.

The ECB said, “Based on ongoing discussions with the Board of Control for Cricket in India, the Test match in Manchester is being cancelled. Indian players were scared due to the threat of coronavirus and India did not have a playing 11 to play in the match, so it has been decided to cancel the match.”

The England and Wales Cricket Board has apologized to the fans for the cancellation of the match. The board said, ”We apologize to our cricket fans, news partners. We have caused inconvenience to you guys. More information will be provided on this matter soon. Some Indian players have told the BCCI that they are not comfortable playing Tests in Manchester. Indian players have expressed concern to the BCCI about taking the field. However, on Thursday morning, all the players of the Indian team had a fresh corona test, the report of which has not come yet. But the England and Wales Cricket Board has issued an official statement confirming the cancellation of the match. Last night BCCI President Sourav Ganguly expressed the possibility of the match being cancelled.

After several rounds of discussion, BCCI has issued a statement saying the Team is unable to play the Test due to Covid concerns.

“In lieu of the strong relationship between BCCI and ECB, the BCCI has offered to ECB a rescheduling of the cancelled Test match. Both the Boards will work towards finding a window to reschedule this Test match. The BCCI has always maintained that the safety and well-being of the players is of paramount importance and there will be no compromise on that aspect.

The BCCI would like to thank the ECB for their co-operation and understanding in these trying times. We would like to apologise to the fans for not being able to complete an enthralling series,” BCCI said in a statement.