Last month, the fifth and final Test between India and England at Old Trafford was called off at the eleventh hour as the visiting team refused to take the field following a COVID -19 outbreak in the camp.

Notably, the tourists were leading the series 2-1 after four Tests. While India won the second and fourth Test at Lord’s and the Oval respectively, England registered victory in the third Test at Headingley.

Meanwhile, the ICC is likely to discuss the course of the five-Test series, which ended prematurely, in its board and chief executive committee meeting at the end of the T20 World Cup next month.

"The competition terms of the World Test Championship states that if, for whatever reason, the series is not being able to be completed with matches left to be played, the first step is to reschedule those matches in the competition window. As for teams pulling out on the morning of matches in the T20 World Cup, we have our own team to assess the situation unlike it happens in bilateral series," TOI quoted ICC's acting CEO Geoff Allardice as saying on Sunday (October 10).

"During the ICC board and CEC meeting, we have set aside a day to talk about the future directions of the FTP," he added.

After the match was cancelled, the Indian board, in its statement, had talked about an offer made to reschedule the Manchester Test.  However, ECB CEO Tom Harrison had rejected it, saying that the proposed rescheduling would be a one-off game rather than a decider for the series.

Notably, ECB are staring at a loss of GBP 40 million and most of it won't be covered if COVID-19 is the reason for cancellation of the game. Hence, they are likely to push for a forfeiture of the fifth Test, which would enable them to claim compensation from the insurance company.

(With TOI inputs)