The Indian head coach has returned a positive result in his lateral flow test report and will stay in isolation until his RT-PCR reports come. Bowling coach Bharath Arun, fielding coach R Shridhar and physiotherapist Nitin Patel have also been isolated.
The ongoing test at Oval is in no danger of being postponed as all the Indian players tested negative for their respective tests conducted on Saturday evening and Sunday morning.
The final test will take place at Old Trafford, and the team will travel to Manchester on Tuesday. If Shastri and the three staff members test positive in the RT-PCR report, they will have to undergo 10-day room isolation followed by two negative RT-PCR reports before they can join the team.
The lateral flow test (RAT) is not always accurate and is provided to each staff member of the squad as a form of self-test. There is a theory that Shastri may have contracted the virus after attending his book launch event recently.
“Since there is no restrictions in the UK, outside guests were allowed during Shastri’s book launch party. These people also were his closest contacts, so it has now led to mandatory isolation,”
a BCCI source said.
The current test match between India and England has had plenty of twists and turns. At the start of the 5th day, Joe Root-led side will start batting on 77/0 with 291 runs to reach the target. The match is right in the balance as we speak, and it could end up in a draw or go to either of the teams.
