Former cricketers and fans of the game saw the funny side of the suspense surrounding the fifth and final match of the Test series between India and England which was cancelled over a COVID-19 scare. The England Cricket Board (ECB) said the decision was taken after “ongoing conversations” with the Board of Cricket Control in India (BCCI) as due “fears of a further increase” in more members of the Indian squad testing positive for coronavirus. “India are regrettably unable to field a team,” the ECB said in a statement, apologising for the “immense disappointment and inconvenience.”

“Just remember what I said about where Test Cricket will be at in 2026…” Former England captain Michael Vaughan tweeted, “India have let English Cricket down!!! But England did let South African Cricket down!”

The series decider, which was due to start on Friday at Old Trafford, was under threat after Indian cricket team cancelled its practice session on Thursday and underwent new tests as assistant physio Yogesh Parmar tested positive for coronavirus. India were heading into the match without head coach Ravi Shastri, bowling coach Bharath Arun and fielding coach Ramakrishnan Sridhar, who are isolating in London after testing positive for coronavirus.  BCCI president Sourav Ganguly had said he wasn’t sure if the match “will happen at the moment.”

Off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin was set to replace the injured Ravindra Jadeja, for his first game of the series.  

Parmar’s positive test had cast doubts over the Old Trafford test with Board of Cricket Control in India (BCCI) president Sourav Ganguly saying he wasn’t sure if the match “will happen at the moment.”

However, an England Cricket Board (ECB) spokesperson late on Thursday said the match “goes ahead” after the negative PCR tests of the Indian squad, news agency AFP reported.

The Indian cricket team, which had a 2-1 lead in the series, has forfeited the match after senior players expressed apprehensions of the outbreak spreading further following Parmar’s positive result, Press Trust of India reported.

While all the Indian players had tested negative, after considering the 96-hour incubation period, they didn’t want to “risk testing positive and ending in 10-day quarantine,” the agency quoted BCCI sources as saying.