The Chief Executive of the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) was “gutted” after the cancellation of the fifth and final Test of the series slated to take place in Manchester also attended the book launch of India’s head coach Ravi Shastri’s upcoming book.
The event took place two days before the start of the fourth Test at the Oval and now is being under the scanner for becoming a spreader event for the Indian side.
As per a UK-based newspaper Evening Standard, Harrison was also there at the launch and he had received the invitation for the event from Shastri himself. However, the report suggests that he was in full compliance with the Covid-19 norms such as wearing masks
Harrison was asked if the Indian team members should not have organised such an event after the Old Trafford was “cancelled”, and he refused to issue any mandate on the part of the ECB to the touring Indian team.
“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.
The final Test of the series that was interestingly poised at 2-1 with a match to go at Old Trafford has been postponed indefinitely with both the ECB and BCCI working together to “reschedule” at some point in the near future.