The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) has proposed the International Cricket Council (ICC) to allow coronavirus substitutions in its upcoming Test series against West Indies and Pakistan.
According to a report by BBC Sports, ECB has suggested certain changes in the playing condition which include coronavirus replacements during a match. As of now, only players with concussion injuries are eligible for substitution
The West Indies tour of England will be the first international fixture since the suspension of activities due to the pandemic in late March and will be played under bio-secure environment with adherence to strict health and safety guidelines.
The replacement rule will be applied only in Tests
The BBC Sports report further says that the new replacement rule (if it takes shape) will only be applied in Tests and not in limited over formats.
The director of events for ECB, Steve Elworthy, however, hopes that the apex body will consider the change ahead of the West Indies tour of England.
“There are still some considerations from an ICC perspective about a Covid-19 replacement. That still needs to be agreed. I would hope that would be in place well before the Test series starts in July.”
BBC Sports quoted Steve Elworthy as saying
Dravid questioned playing under bio-secure environment
Ahead of the test tour, which will lead resumption of international cricket, former Indian batting great Rahul Dravid questioned the idea of playing the game under bio-secure environment. He termed the idea of playing under bio-secure environment “unrealistic”.
“In case of the bio-bubble, you do all the testing, the quarantine and then on day two of the Test match, what if one player tests positive? What happens then? The rules, as they stand now, will see the Public Health Department coming in and putting everyone in quarantine.”
Rahul Dravid in a webinar by YuVa
Notably, the ECB is awaiting the final call form UK government to resume the cricket in the country while the players are sweating in the ground for the preparations.
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