'Members Of Team India Were Seen Out In Manchester Yesterday; IPL Might Have A Lot To Do With Test Call-Off'

Soon after the Indian cricket board (BCCI) and ECB came to a conclusion to call-off the fifth and final Manchester Test following Covid scare, the English media have levelled some serious allegations

Meanwhile, BBC also believed that IPL might have a lot to do with this call-off. "This is quite bizarre because last night the players all passed their PCR tests. We went to bed thinking the match would go ahead."

"I suspect the IPL would have a lot to do with this. It starts in 10 days' time. The players are on huge contacts. The IPL is worth £300m to the BCCI. They are desperate to protect their product and the players protect their contracts. This stands to cost the ECB £20m, one assumes there would be some negotiations about that with the BCCI. It is a shame Covid has interfered with a brilliant series,' BBC correspondent wrote.

Interestingly, there were some former cricketers like Kevin Pietersen, Michael Vaughan and Wasim Jaffer who pointed out that England too had left a tour of South Africa following COVID-19 scares.

"England left the tour of SA for Covid scares & cost CSA plenty, so don't go pointing fingers!" KP wrote on Twitter.