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Former England captain Nasser Hussain has blamed the crammed cricketing schedule for India’s decision to pull out of the final Test against England in Manchester. He described the Indian Premier League (IPL) as the "elephant in the room," an event India wouldn’t compromise on at any cost.
After some hectic off-field activity, the final India-England Test at Old Trafford was canceled on Friday. The official reason given was that India’s players were apprehensive of taking the field as their physio had tested positive. Head coach Ravi Shastri and some members of the support staff were already in isolation.
Writing in his column for The Daily Mail, Nasser Hussain said that he felt sorry for the fans and described the whole situation as a mess. He explained:
“Unfortunately, it is where we are in the world of cricket right now due to a packed schedule and the elephant in the room that is the Indian Premier League. As soon as Covid got into the tourists’ camp, some of the decision-making was about that tournament, and it is worth remembering that India have always been wary about the positioning of this Test match so close to it.”
Nasser Hussain recalled that India had tried to get the Test match moved earlier owing to its proximity to the start of the IPL. He added:
“You will recall that they tried to get it moved. Because of the finances involved, the IPL is non-negotiable to them. It simply has to take place. And so when a team pull out of a match like this, it reaches an inevitable but sad conclusion for Test ticket-holders. With no wriggle room for re-scheduling, the best they can hope for now is a stand-alone match in future.”
Pointing out to what transpired in South Africa in December last year, when the series against England was canceled due to COVID-19, Nasser Hussain opined that it would be wrong to blame Indian players. He wrote:
“Naturally, puritan cricket-lovers will be asking how we got to a stage where we are prioritising the next franchise tournament over Test matches but that is where we are, and it is not going to change. This is a player-power situation, just as we saw 10 months ago from England when Covid hit their camp in South Africa - some players wanted to get off to the Big Bash, others were just desperate to get home for Christmas.
Nasser Hussain admitted:
“Like the Indian players this week, they did not fancy the risk of catching the virus and spending 10 days isolated in a hotel room. I don’t blame the players because I experienced similar environments last summer. If someone had asked me to do a few extra days last September, I would have shown resistance, and I was just doing a few weeks here and there.”
India pulled out because they are 2-1 up? Don’t buy it: Nasser Hussain
Nasser Hussain also rubbished the theory that India pulled out because they were 2-1 up. According to the former England skipper, India had the upper hand going into the final Test.
Nasser Hussain explained:
“As for the theory that India have pulled out because they are 2-1 up? I just don’t buy it. Virat Kohli and his team want to create history, as they did when they won in Australia earlier this year. And to have done it properly. They did not want to win by default.
Nasser Hussain concluded:
"And things were in their favour in Manchester. England were missing three match-winners in Ben Stokes, Jofra Archer and Stuart Broad, and the pitch looked like it would turn. If you were India, you would see those as perfect circumstances in which to play.”
Indian and England players will now head to the UAE for the second half of IPL 2021, which begins on September 19.
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