Three of the four Indian support staff members, who were isolated, have contracted COVID-19. The RT-PCR tests of head coach Ravi Shastri, bowling coach Bharat Arun and fielding coach R. Sridhar returned positive on Monday, while physiotherapist Nitin Patel’s report was negative.
The development has also put the last Test of the series, scheduled to start in Manchester on Friday, in doubt with both the BCCI and ECB treading cautiously.
Shastri’s lateral flow test had returned positive on Saturday, leading to his isolation along with the other three who had been deemed as close contacts.
With the coaches starting to develop mild symptoms, all Indian squad members underwent a lateral flow test and the RT-PCR tests before the start of the last day’s play in the ongoing fourth Test at the Oval in London. Just like Day 4, India was allowed to take the field on the final day only after everyone cleared the lateral flow test.
The Indian camp is wary of the number of infections going up in the coming days, considering at least one of the coaching staff members had used the recovery table in the dressing room on the third day before it was used by players after the end of the day’s play.
All four members, including Patel, will have to isolate for 10 days according to UK government health protocols. So, they will miss the scheduled decider from Friday in Manchester.
Meanwhile, Rohit Sharma and Cheteshwar Pujara continued to be off the field after undergoing scans on “left knee” and “left ankle”, respectively, according to the team management.
