England vs India: Manchester Test to go ahead as planned
There were question marks over the fifth and final Test match between England and India in Manchester, starting on Friday. This was due to Team India's assistant physiotherapist Yogesh Parmar testing positive for the novel coronavirus. However, the ECB has said that all the Indian players' PCR COVID-19 Tests have come back negative and the Old Trafford Test goes ahead as planned. Here's more.
India's training session on eve of Manchester Test was canceled
The Indian team's training session on the eve of the fifth Test in Manchester had to be canceled after Parmar tested positive. According to a report in ESPNcricinfo, it was stated that the Indian squad members were asked to stay back in their hotel rooms till further notice. Meanwhile, Sourav Ganguly told PTI that he was unsure whether the match will happen or not.
Parmar had experienced COVID-19 symptoms
The report added that Parmar's positive result came after a fresh round of testing on Wednesday evening. Team India had trained as scheduled in the morning and Parmar experienced coronavirus symptoms on the same day after returning from training. Since he was in close contact with several players, everyone had to undergo mandatory tests.
Parmar took charge of India midway through the 4th Test
Parmar is the second physiotherapist in the Indian medical team and had to take charge midway through the fourth Test at Edgbaston. This happened after main physio Nitin Patel was identified as a close contact of coach Shastri, who tested positive for COVID-19 on the fourth day of the Test match. Shastri, Bharath Arun, and R Sridhar had tested positive for COVID-19.
India have dealt with COVID-19-related issues recently
The Indian contingent has been involved in COVID-19-related issues in past as well. Ahead of the Test series, Indian wicket-keeper Rishabh Pant had contracted the virus. Even in the Sri Lanka white-ball series, Krunal Pandya, who was with the second-string Team India, had tested positive between the first and second T20Is. Two more players, Yuzvendra Chahal and K Gowtham, had tested positive thereafter.
