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'India said ‘my bat, my ball, see you later.’ They were not interested to play': Steve Harmison blames IPL scheduling
The Indian players tested negative but they were reportedly not too keen to take the field keeping the risk factor in mind. But British media and a few of their former cricketers including Harmison have not shied away from blaming the IPL, which resumes from September 19 in the UAE.
Terming the cancellation of the India-England fifth Test in Manchester ‘the beginning of the end of Test cricket,’ former England fast bowler Steve Harmison said the IPL being barely four days after the scheduled end of the Test match, was one of the main reasons behind this situation.
“It’s rubbish, it really is. My initial thoughts are that this is the beginning of the end for Test cricket,” Harmison told TalkSport.
"But this is all about the IPL. End of. As much as I’d want to sugar coat it, I don’t think I can.
"The IPL starts in five days, and a month before the tour started India asked if they could move the last Test match forward or clear four days so they can fit the IPL in.
"All of a sudden this happens. It doesn’t sit well with me and I feel so sorry for the people of Manchester," he added.
Also Read | ‘India's refusal to play in Manchester denied Anderson a final hurrah'
The fifth and final Test was cancelled two hours before its toss on Friday due to Covid-19 fears in the Indian camp. India's assistant physio Yogesh Parmar tested positive on the eve of the Test match becoming fifth member of India's support staff -coaches Shastri, Arun, Sridhar and senior physio Nitin Patel had contracted the virus in London.
The Indian players tested negative but they were reportedly not too keen to take the field keeping the risk factor in mind. But British media and a few of their former cricketers including Harmison have not shied away from blaming the IPL, which resumes from September 19 in the UAE.
"We don’t know the full facts, but when teams are pulling out like that, two hours before the match, this is down to players saying, 'if we contract COVID now we have to stay here for ten days and the IPL is starting'.
"It’s a short window there and money makes the world go round, but there’s a point where integrity comes into it.
“For me, this is India flexing their muscles and saying, 'we’re not interested in playing – my bat, my ball, see you later',” Harmison added.
The former lanky fast bowler, however said, England can't play the blame game as they had done the same thing by pulling out from the South Africa limited-overs series last year.
“Let’s be fair before we start throwing stones, England did it to South Africa. Let’s get that straight from the very start,” he said.
