The elephant in the room is the IPL: Nasser Hussain after Test cancellation

TIL Desk Sports/ Former England skipper Nasser Hussain put the blame for the cancellation of the fifth Test between Indian and England at Old Trafford to cricket’s relentless scheduling, adding that the “packed schedule” and “the elephant in the room that is the Indian Premier League” had created the mess.

After several conference calls and feverish attempts by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) and the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to find a solution, the Test was called off because “the Indian players refused to play”.

Captain Virat Kohli is said to have conveyed on behalf of the Indian cricketers that an infection could show up in the next couple of days among the tourists — as the negative Covid-19 test results on the eve of the match were not a guarantee of an infection not germinating.

But former cricketer Jonathan Agnew had reported on Friday that India refused to play so as to protect the unfinished IPL, which is scheduled to resume in the UAE from September 19. The league is worth crores of rupees to some of the Indian players and thousands of crores of rupees to the BCCI.