The fifth and final Test in Manchester has been cancelled in the wake of the Covid-19 outbreak within the India squad.
![a man standing in front of a crowd: ESPNcricinfo understands more than one India player had expressed concerns about taking the field in talks with the BCCI © AFP/Getty Images]({"default":{"load":"default","w":"80","h":"45","src":"//img-s-msn-com.akamaized.net/tenant/amp/entityid/AAOfMwe.img?h=450&w=799&m=6&q=60&o=f&l=f&x=419&y=101"},"size3column":{"load":"default","w":"62","h":"35","src":"//img-s-msn-com.akamaized.net/tenant/amp/entityid/AAOfMwe.img?h=351&w=624&m=6&q=60&o=f&l=f&x=419&y=101"},"size2column":{"load":"default","w":"62","h":"35","src":"//img-s-msn-com.akamaized.net/tenant/amp/entityid/AAOfMwe.img?h=351&w=624&m=6&q=60&o=f&l=f&x=419&y=101"}})
“Due to fears of a further increase in the number of COVID cases inside the camp, India are regrettably unable to field a team,” the ECB said in a statement. “We send our sincere apologies to fans and partners for this news, which we know will cause immense disappointment and inconvenience to many.”
The development comes on the back of intense discussions between the BCCI and the ECB after India’s assistant physiotherapist Yogesh Parmar returned a positive Covid-19 test on Wednesday.
ESPNcricinfo understands more than one India player had expressed concerns about taking the field in talks between the BCCI and the team management over the last two days. The entire India squad returned negative RT-PCR tests on Thursday, but results of a second round of testing performed on Thursday are still awaited.
