BCCI maintains 'Test cricket ultimate format' after cancellation of 5th test in Eng series

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) President Sourav Ganguly has clarified his stand on the cancelled fifth Test match amid speculations that IPL influenced Indian players' decision to not play the game at Old Trafford. Ganguly, while speaking to news agency PTI, said the BCCI has always dubbed Test cricket to be the ultimate format and that the board would never compromise it for anything. Ganguly further added that the fifth Test was cancelled because the players refused to take the field due to genuine COVID-19 concerns.

"The BCCI maintains that Test cricket is the ultimate format and we won't compromise it for anything. We are extremely disappointed that this series had to be called off. The only reason is the COVID-19 outbreak and players' safety. We could only push them to a point," Ganguly was quoted as saying by PTI. 

Ganguly said that the players can't be blamed for what unfolded in Manchester because they were scared of contracting the virus and had their family members travelling with them. When asked if an alternative team was an option for the BCCI, Ganguly said it was never in the cards.

"No that wasn't an option. If you see the Yogesh Parmar (the junior physio who tested positive just before the match) was a close contact of every player. So obviously that was a cause of worry. It was something nobody had any control on and they (the players) had families travelling with them," Ganguly said. 

Ganguly clears BCCI's stand on cancelled Test 

The former Indian skipper also said that the BCCI would like to see the rescheduled Test as part of the recently-concluded series and not as a one-off Test. Ganguly said the BCCI wants the cancelled fifth Test to be treated as part of the series and not as a standalone match because if India wins it will be the country's first Test series victory in England since 2007. Meanwhile, the ECB has written to the International Cricket Council (ICC) to decide the outcome of the cancelled Test match. As per reports, the ECB expects the ICC will grant a forfeiture so that the board can claim insurance for the losses it has incurred after the cancellation of the Test. 

Ganguly, however, believes that the two sides can still resolve the issue "amicably" and decide on a future date to conduct the match. Ganguly said this is not the first instance where a series has been cancelled due to COVID-19. He said the BCCI had to incur losses worth 40-50 million pounds last year when it had to cancel the bilateral series against South Africa due to the COVID-19 outbreak. 

"There is precedence of series being cancelled because of COVID-19 in the past 18 months. The BCCI cancelled its home series against South Africa last year which cost us around 40 to 50 million pounds," Ganguly said.

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