Picture Credit: Twitter/@BCCI
While there is little to no clarity on the status of the cancelled Test match of the England-India Test series, BCCI President Sourav Ganguly has now said that he wants the proposed "standalone" Test between the two countries as the series-deciding fifth match that had to be called off last week. The Indian players refused to take the field due to the COVID-19 cases in the Indian camp. Ganguly also ruled out the possibility of the proposed Test match being being a one-off game.
Notably, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) has written to the International Cricket Council seeking a Dispute Resolution Committee (DRC) verdict on the fate of the cancelled Test match that was to be played at the Old Trafford, Manchester. Ganguly, however, has made BCCI's stance pretty clear.
Test cricket is the ultimate format, won't compromise it: Ganguly
"We want the series to be completed as this will be our first series win (in England) since 2007," Ganguly told PTI.
"The BCCI maintains that Test cricket is the ultimate format and we won't compromise it for anything," the former India captain added.
Notably, the visiting Indian team were up 2-1 in the series when the last match was called off. Members of the support staff including head coach Ravi Shastri had tested COVID-19 positive. While a forfeiture will allow the ECB to get the insurance reimbursement of 40 million pounds that it claims would make up for the loss due to the cancellation.
Ready to play extra ODI and T20Is: Ganguly
When quizzed if the BCCI has proposed playing additional T20Is during their tour to England in July next year, Ganguly said, "We are ready to play extra ODI and T20Is and that's not an issue."
"Just that the Test match that will be played later will be the fifth match of the series," he added.
Meanwhile, if the ICC finds after an investigation that the match was indeed abandoned due to COVID-19 then India will be declared the winners of the series since such cancellation is considered an "acceptable non-compliance" under the World Test Championship rules.
"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," the 49-year-old said.