New Delhi: England and Wales Cricket Board suffered a massive blow on Tuesday as seven members of the men’s cricket team, four being backroom staff and three being England players tested positive for COVID-19. England are all set to lock horns against Pakistan in three-match ODI series starting from July 8. The board has not disclosed the name of the players as they have already announced a new 18-member squad for the series against Pakistan.
Former England skipper Nasser Hussain feels that the COVID-19 outbreak will cause chaos in the ECB tours with the Pakistan series around the corner.
“It will cause chaos. They will have to pick a completely different squad- that 16 players and the backroom staff and coaches ruled out. They will have to pull the bulk of those players out of county cricket. There’s a round of County Championship games going on now and all those counties will have to replace those players and get them tested. The players pulled out will have to get to Cardiff and get tested to enter the bubble. So it will be absolute chaos at ECB towers right now,” Hussain told Sky Sports.
Hussain further said the cricket board has to give more ease to players in the bio-secure bubble for the sake of their mental health.
“They had to ease that bubble slightly, the cricketers have been going around the world in bubbles and just for the sake of their mental health – when they turn up to the ground and see normal society out there, doing things and being relaxed slightly. That’s what they had to do with their players,” Hussain said.
Meanwhile, Sri Lankan cricketers will head straight into a bio-bubble ahead of their limited-overs series against India after landing back from England, where the players they competed against have been quarantined following a COVID-19 outbreak in the team.
India and Sri Lanka are due to square off in an ODI and T20 series starting July 13.