Ready to play extra ODIs or T20Is; want rescheduled Test to be ‘fifth’ of series and not one off: Ganguly

The
England
and
Wales
Cricket
Board
(ECB)
has
written
to
the
ICC
seeking
a
Dispute
Resolution
Committee
(DRC)
verdict
on
the
fate
of
the
cancelled
match
that
was
to
be
played
at
Old
Trafford,
Manchester.
The
ICC
is
yet
to
comment
on
the
matter.

“We
want
the
series
to
be
completed
as
this
will
be
our
first
series
win
(in
England)
since
2007,”
Ganguly
told
PTI
in
an
exclusive
interview.
“The
BCCI
maintains
that
Test
cricket
is
the
ultimate
format
and
we
won’t
compromise
it
for
anything,”
he
made
it
clear.

Sourav
Ganguly
reveals
why
5th
Test
against
England
cancelled

India
were
leading
2-1
when
the
match
was
called
off
last
week
after
the
visiting
players
refused
to
step
onto
the
field
following
positive
COVID-19
cases
among
its
support
staff,
including
head
coach
Ravi
Shastri.

A
forfeiture
will
allow
the
ECB
to
get
insurance
reimbursement
of
40
million
pounds
that,
it
claims,
would
help
offset
its
losses
because
of
the
cancellation.
Asked
if
BCCI
has
offered
to
play
two
extra
T20
Internationals
when
the
team
tours
in
July
next
year
for
a
white-ball
series
in
lieu
of
the
Test,
Ganguly
said:
“We
are
ready
to
play
extra
ODI
and
T20Is
and
that’s
not
an
issue.
“Just
that
the
Test
match
that
will
be
played
later
will
be
the
fifth
match
of
the
series.”

If
the
ICC
deems
that
the
match
was
abandoned
due
to
COVID-19,
then
India
will
officially
win
the
series
2-1
as
such
cancellation
is
considered
an
“acceptable
non-compliance”
under
the
World
Test
Championship
rules.

“There
is
a
precedence
of
series
being
cancelled
because
of
COVID-19
in
the
past
18
months.
The
BCCI
cancelled
its
home
series
against
South
Africa
last
year
which
cost
us
around
40
to
50
million
pounds,”
the
former
captain
said.

He
also
hoped
that
in
near
future
there
will
be
concrete
“medical
advice”
on
offer
that
will
allow
the
series
to
go
on
even
with
COVID
cases
within
the
team.

“Because
we
understand
how
detrimental
it
is
to
the
game
in
terms
of
spectators
and
viewers’ interest
(TV
and
OTT)
especially
when
the
series
has
been
of
such
high
quality.
Test
cricket
is
BCCI’s
foremost
priority,”
he
stated.

Ganguly
said
that
the
BCCI
is
“disappointed”
that
the
match
was
called
off
but
it
could
not
have
pushed
the
worried
players
beyond
a
point.
“We
are
extremely
disappointed
that
this
series
had
to
be
called
off.
The
only
reason
is
the
COVID-19
outbreak
and
players’
safety.
We
could
only
push
them
to
a
point.

“But
the
pandemic
is
so
severe
that
one
can
only
go
that
much
distance,”
he
explained.
Asked
if
the
option
of
fielding
a
fresh
team
by
resting
some
of
the
senior
players,
who
were
not
comfortable,
was
considered,
Ganguly
answered
in
the
negative.

“No
that
wasn’t
an
option.
If
you
see
the
Yogesh
Parmar
(the
junior
physio
who
tested
positive
just
before
the
match)
was
a
close
contact
of
every
player,”
Ganguly
said.
“So
obviously
that
was
a
cause
of
worry.
It
was
something
nobody
had
any
control
on
and
they
(the
players)
had
families
travelling
with
them,”
he
added,
justifying
the
anxiety
in
the
camp.

ECB
CEO
Tom
Harrison
had
also
said
that
every
effort
was
made
to
comfort
the
travelling
players
but
the
“perception
of
what
might
happen”
made
them
fearful
of
playing.
Asked
if
he
would
try
and
sort
it
“amicably”
with
Harrison
and
ECB
head
Ian
Whatmore
during
his
personal
visit
to
London
on
September
23,
Ganguly
said:
“Even
the
Test
match
was
called
off
amicably.
I
am
going
there
and
let’s
see,
we
will
figure
out
something.”