Cancelled 5th Test to Virat Kohli stepping down, timeline of Indian Cricket turbulence

For Team India, everything was hunky-dory when they defeated England in the fourth Test at the Oval to take an unassailable 2-1 lead in the five-match series. However, since then, things have turned somewhat turbulent. Head coach Ravi Shastri’s RT-PCR test came positive just a day before the conclusion of the fourth Test. Coaches Bharat Arun and R Sridhar contracted COVID as well.

However, India’s second physio Yogesh Parmar, testing positive for the coronavirus turned out to be a game-changer. Senior Indian players showed apprehensions about playing in the fifth Test at Old Trafford in Manchester. The match was eventually cancelled around two hours before commencing.

The fate of the match is yet to be decided. If the cancellation of the Test falls under the COVID protocols, then the result of the game would be considered null and void. But if India is found to have forfeited the game, the match would be awarded to England. The BCCI set guidelines that the players travelling from the UK to the UAE for IPL 2021 would have to undergo six days of quarantine.

Virat Kohli to step down as India's T20 captain after ICC T20 World Cup 2021

Amidst the hullabaloo, Indian cricket has been faced with another blow. On Thursday, September 16, Virat Kohli announced that he would be stepping down as Team India’s T20I captain after the upcoming T20 World Cup in the UAE. Kohli took over as India’s full-time T20I skipper back in January 2017 after the legendary MS Dhoni passed the baton to the New Delhi-born 32-year-old.

In T20Is, Kohli is India’s second-most successful captain. In 45 games, Virat has led the team to 27 wins with a win percentage of 65.11. Dhoni is India’s most fruitful T20I skipper with 41 wins from 71 games. With India yet to win an ICC trophy since 2013, Virat will be looking to end his captaincy on a high note.

In the last couple of weeks, Indian cricket has gone through a lot of turbulence. With new changes awaiting, the mystery of future happenings is sure to keep everyone at the edge of their seats. For the time being, the focus shifts to the second leg of the 2021 IPL, starting September 19.

Image: AP/Twitter@IMVKOHLI