Irfan Pathan, former all-rounder said the Virat Kohli-led Indian side will be the ‘favourites’ to win the postponed fifth Test against England whenever it takes place in the future.
Irfan Pathan’s comments came after the final Test of the India-England series slated to begin in Manchester on Friday was postponed indefinitely two hours before toss due to Covid-19 scares in the Indian camp.
Irfan Pathan: India Showed Great Character And Fighting Spirit In England Tour And Will Be Favourites Whenever The Postponed 5th Test Will Take Place
Irfan Pathan said India, who is leading the series 2-1, should be proud of the way they performed in England.
“India showed great character & fighting spirit throughout the series. Giving it back to them with top level of skills was something to be proud of this team. I’m sure India will be the favourites whenever this ‘postponed’ match will be held,” Irfan Pathan tweeted.
The India cricket team toured England in August and September 2021 to play five Test matches. Prior to their matches against England, India played New Zealand in the 2021 ICC World Test Championship Final at the Rose Bowl in Southampton in June 2021. The Test series between India and England were the first matches of the 2021–2023 ICC World Test Championship.
The first Test of the series ended in a draw, after more than two days of play was lost across the duration of the match to rain. India won the second Test by 151 runs, in the final hour of the fifth day, to take a 1–0 lead in the series. England won the third Test by an innings and 76 runs before the lunch break on day four, levelling the series 1–1. India won the fourth Test by 157 runs, to lead the series 2–1 before the 5th Test was cancelled.
Jay Shah: Both BCCI And ECB Will Work In Tandem To Find A Window To Reschedule The 5th Test
BCCI secretary said Jay Shah said they will work with the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) to reschedule the Manchester Test.
“The BCCI and ECB held several rounds of discussion to find a way to play the Test Match, however, the outbreak of Covid-19 in the Indian team contingent forced the decision of calling off the Old Trafford Test Match.
“In lieu of the strong relationship between BCCI and ECB, the BCCI has offered to ECB a rescheduling of the cancelled Test match. Both the Boards will work towards finding a window to reschedule this Test match,” Shah said.
ECB CEO Tom Harrison indicated that the rescheduled Test match may not be treated as the fifth Test and instead played as a one-off fixture between the two sides. If that does turn out to be true then the current series will be treated as a four-Test series and India will be declared the winners by virtue of their 2-1 lead.
“No, I think it’s a stand-alone situation. We have been offered a few other options, probably need to take a look (at those),” Harrison told ‘Sky Sports’ when asked whether it would be a stand-alone game or the series-decider.
India head coach Ravi Shastri, bowling coach Bharat Arun, fielding coach R Sridhar and senior physio Nitin Patel had all tested positive during the fourth Test in London and did not travel with the team in Manchester.
The Indian players had no problems in going ahead with the fifth Test until assistant physio Yogesh Parmar tested, who had been helping in the training of most of the Indian cricketers, tested positive on the eve of the Manchester Test. The Indian players expressed their reservation in taking the field on Friday citing Covid-related concerns, which led to the postponement of the Test match.