Sunil Gavaskar has lauded the BCCI’s offer of rescheduling the cancelled Old Trafford Test, saying India should never forget England’s gesture of returning back to complete a tour, which was halted midway due to the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks in 2008.
The Manchester Test at Old Trafford was cancelled at the last moment on Friday after India could not field a team due to a COVID-19 scare in their camp. The fifth Test between India and England was called off hours before its start on Friday after a COVID-19 outbreak in the visiting team’s camp which made the Indian players reluctant to play fearing a positive result might lead to 10-day isolation and scheduling nightmare of the Indian Premier League.
Sunil Gavaskar Thinks Rescheduling The Cancelled 5th Test At Manchester Was A Correct Decision Pointing Out To England Returning After Heading Home Due To Mumbai Terror Attack
Both the BCCI and England Cricket Board (ECB) officials later announced that the match will be rescheduled at a later date as a one-off game, but the decision is yet to be made official.
“Yes, I think that (rescheduling the cancelled Test) would be the correct thing to do. Look, we, in India, should never forget what the England team did in 2008 after the horrific attack, the 26/11. They came back,” Sunil Gavaskar said.
“They would have been perfectly entitled to say -‘we don’t feel safe. We are not coming back,’ ” Sunil Gavaskar said.
The visiting England team was playing an ODI against India in Cuttack on November 26 when terrorists attacked Mumbai, leading to the cancellation of the last two ODIs of the seven-match series. England headed home immediately but later returned for the two-Test series which India won 1-0. Sunil Gavaskar said that the then skipper Kevin Pietersen was instrumental in England’s decision to return back for the Test matches.
“Never forget that Kevin Pietersen led the team, and he was the main man. If KP had said, no I don’t want to go, that would have been the end of the matter. It was because KP was willing to go and he convinced the others, the team came and we had that fantastic Test match in Chennai where India chased 380 to win on the last day,” the batting great said.
The 6th and 7th ODIs were cancelled without a ball bowled on November 29 and 2nd December 2008 after the terror attacks on 26th November. England then played 2 Tests at Chennai and Mohali after returning in December.
Sunil Gavaskar Termed BCCI’s Rescheduling Offer As Fantastic News
Sunil Gavaskar termed BCCI’s rescheduling offer as ‘fantastic news’ and said the cancelled Test can be held next year after the Indian Premier League.
“Don’t forget, the gesture of the ECB has to be remembered,” he said.
“It’s absolutely apt that the BCCI now says, right next year, we are still coming to England. I think there will be a little lean period. I think the IPL will finish in early June. So there is enough time for them to go a few days early, depending on whether we still have Covid and all the restrictions and maybe play a Test match before or after,” Gavaskar said.
“This is fantastic news coming that the BCCI will make up for it. This is exactly what the relations between boards should be.”
India’s refusal to feature in the 5th and final Test against England at Manchester due to fears of Covid-19 has strained relationships between the two teams. While many in the English cricket fraternity are criticising Virat Kohli-led Indian management, some cricketers are reportedly even looking to pull out from the UAE leg of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021.
News that the Manchester Test match wouldn’t begin as originally planned came in hours before the scheduled toss. The development came 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.