All India players test negative for Covid-19 after junior physio turns out positive

Manchester/Kolkata, September 9

All players in Indian squad have tested negative for Covid-19 after team’s junior physio Yogesh Parmar tested positive for the virus ahead of the fifth Test against England in Manchester.

The Test is likely to go ahead as scheduled on Friday.

Earlier, BCCI president Sourav Ganguly said he is unsure whether the fifth and final Test against England, scheduled from Friday, will go ahead or not after junior physio Yogesh Parmar tested positive for Covid-19.

After head coach Ravi Shastri and bowling coach Bharath Arun, another member of the support staff testing positive forced the team to cancel its practice session on Thursday.

“We don’t know if match will happen at the moment. Hopefully we can get some game,” Ganguly said earlier in the day at the book launch of ‘Mission Domination’ in Kolkata.

Parmar testing positive also leaves the team without a physio with the main physio Nitin Patel already in isolation after Shastri contracted the virus during the Oval Test.

It is learnt that the BCCI has asked England and Wales Cricket Board to spare a physio.

Besides Shastri and Patel, fielding coach R Sridhar and Arun are also isolating in London.

Only batting coach Vikram Rathour was with the team when it won the fourth Test at the Oval on day five.

All the players and the support staff are fully vaccinated but both teams are not operating in strict bio-bubbles with life in UK almost back to normal.

Shastri is likely to have got the symptoms after attending the launch of his book in the team hotel where outside guests were also allowed.

Arun, Patel and Sridhar attended that function in person.

India lead the five-match series 2-1. — PTI