England vs India 2021: India Head Coach Ravi Shastri To Miss Manchester Test After Contracting COVID-19

Indian cricket team head coach Ravi Shastri will miss the final Test between Indian and England that will be played at Old Trafford in Manchester.

On Sunday, Shastri was tested COVID-19 positive after going through a lateral flow test (Rapid Antigen test) after feeling a bit of discomfort on Saturday night. Shastri along with three other members of the coaching unit was isolated by the BCCI medical team as a precautionary measure.

Ravi Shastri to miss the fifth Test

It is learned now that the head coach will be going under isolation for a 14-day period and will come out if he tests negative twice.

“Unfortunately, Shastri will remain in isolation for 14 days and will have to return two negative tests before he can come out of isolation. He will not be a part of the Indian dressing room till then,” a source was quoted by news agency ANI. 

Of course, we are missing Ravi Shastri massively: Vikram Rathour

Vikram Rathour, India’s batting coach, could likely take the role ahead as he is the only member from the core group who is currently present with the Indian team in the fourth Test at Oval. Rathour also mentioned that team players were a little bit distracted after the news broke and credited the players for coming strong on the field.

“Of course, we are missing Ravi Bhai massively. Ravi bhai, Bharat Arun, and R Sridhar have been an extremely important part of this setup, they have done well in the past five-six years and they have played a major role in the team doing well. This is what it is, they are not here,” Rathour said in a virtual press conference after the fourth day’s play on Sunday. 

“In the morning, it was a bit of a distraction, we had a word and we decided we need to focus on the cricket. We are here for this series, and I think the boys did well to not get distracted. There was a potential we could have been distracted, the credit needs to go to the boys for the way they handled themselves.

“Ravi Bhai felt ill on Saturday night around 8 PM. He was having a little bit of discomfort yesterday, the medical team decided to go for a lateral flow test and it came out positive and that is when we all found that he is positive. The close contacts were identified and isolated so we will wait for the medical team to tell us when they can join back,” he added. 

In response, England openers remained firm at the crease as they scored 77 without adding any loss and need 291 runs more to win the match.

Also Read: Breaking News: India’s Support Staff Isolated After Ravi Shastri Tests Positive For Covid-19 In Lateral Flow Test