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After not being able to secure a Test-series win on the English soil in the previous decade, India finally overturned the odds in their favor as they emphatically won the 4th test at Oval, a feat achieved for the first time since 1971. More importantly, India came back in the iconic test match after being bundled out for just 191 in the first innings. India fought their way back into the game brilliantly to take a 2-1 lead at Oval.
However, as the 5-match Test series was on the verge of entering its last showdown, a Covid-19 outbreak resulted in the suspension of the hard-fought Test series. With multiple controversies already being speculated, former England captain David Gower claimed that Virat Kohli sent a letter to the BCCI at midnight to call off the 5th test match. In addition, to the already existing theories, David Gower believes that if the fourteenth edition of the Indian premier League is linked to the cancellation, then indeed it is a very saddening and demeaning occurrence for the fans.
What was said by David Gower?
Former England captain David Gower said that skipper Virat Kohli sent letters to the Indian board at midnight while he also opined that the events that led to the cancellation of the Manchester Test need better explanation.
"Wow! No one, least of all I, saw that coming. It leads us into unprecedented territories," Gower was quoted as saying by Cricket.com. "I mean I know other matches have been abandoned... sometimes a few balls bowled and various other circumstances but to have the thing called off at the last moment - Virat Kohli sending letters to the BCCI at midnight, the day before - the whole sequence of events needs explaining a little bit better," David Gower stated.
"The worrying thing for me is this: If the IPL was so very closely linked to this, then that to me is very disappointing because... I mean sound old, crusty, but for all those people like me and dare I say, Virat... the last time he was in England, he made a big point about how important Test match cricket is to him," Gower added.
Having said that, England also strictly denied to play their one-day series in South Africa last December because of a Covid scare. On the other hand, even the Board of Council for Cricket in India (BCCI) has to show ample amount of willingness to stage the last and final Test match of the series in the near future.