India physio COVID-19 positive, 5th Test at Old Trafford, IPL 2021 resumption under threat

Manchester, September 9: The India cricket team has been hit by another case of Covid-19 on Thursday (September 9) as one more member of support staff has returned positive in the latest round of tests conducted on Wednesday evening (September 8).

As a result, India training session ahead of the fifth Test, scheduled to begin on Friday (September 10) here at the Old Trafford cricket stadium has been cancelled. However, no player has been so far tested positive but they have been asked to stay in their rooms in the team hotel. India's physio Yogesh Parmar has been tested positive for Covid-19.

However, all the players have been undergone further Covid-19 tests on Thursday afternoon (September 9) and the results of which are awaited.

If any player found positive, it could affect the conduct of the fifth Test of the series, in which India are leading 2-1. In that sense, it could even affect the resumption of the IPL 2021 scheduled to take place in the UAE from September 19.

The scheduled close of fifth Test is on September 14, but if any from the playing group turned in positive then their departure to UAE on September 15 from Manchester could be in jeopardy.

It may be recalled that three Indian support staff were tested positive for Covid-19 ahead of the 4th Test at the Oval. They were head coach Ravi Shastri, bowling coach Bharat Arun and fielding coach R Sridhar. They did not travel with Team India to Manchester as they stayed back in London in isolation.

Physio Nitin Patel too was in isolation was he was among the primary contact of Ravi Shastri. But later he turned negative in a test conducted ahead of the Oval Test. But then he was allowed to join the team during the fourth Test.

It may be worth mentioning that wicketkeeper batsman Rishabh Pant and throwdown specialist Dayanand Garani too were tested positive for Covid-19 in the initial part of the tour to England.