ENG vs IND: ECB chief Tom Harrison attended Ravi Shastri’s book launch in London

Tom Harrison, the chief executive of the England and Wales Cricket Board, attended Ravi Shastri’s book launch in London if reports are to be believed as per Evening Standard. On Tuesday, August 31, the head coach of Team India held a launch for his new book, named Stargazing: The Players In My Life. Thereafter, Shastri’s RT-PCR test returned positive results following which Bharat Arun and R Sridhar went into isolation.

On the eve of the fifth Test, India’s second physio Yogesh Parmar tested COVID-19 positive and the game in Manchester had to be postponed for an indefinite time period. A few of the Indian players had also expressed their concerns over hosting the game in the tumultuous times. India’s practice session before the match was also cancelled.

In the meantime, it’s learned that COVID-19 protocols had gone for a toss when Shastri’s book launch took place two days before the fourth Test at the Kennington Oval in London. The book launch was attended by over 150 people, which included Indian team members.

“It was horrid. No one wore masks, apart from waiting staff. It left me feeling very uncomfortable. Everyone there went over to Shastri to meet him,” one of the guests attending the event was quoted as saying in Daily Mail.

Tom Harrison opines on the matter

Harrison also shared his opinions on the controversial book launch, which is said to have triggered the COVID-19 hassles on the tour.

“The position we have had is for people to make decisions on what they think they are able to do or not. It’s not for ECB to say, in the context of trying to let people live more freely, we’re not influencing how they live their lives in the constraints of those living standards. That’s not how we operate,” Harrison said.

One of the BCCI officials also expressed its displeasure after members of the national team attended the event in London.

“One mistake can make things difficult for everybody. The coach and the captain went out for a book launch and here we are seeing Covid cases within the team. This is scary,” the official said.

The BCCI and the ECB are now trying hard to find a window for the Manchester Test match.