Former Indian all-rounder Irfan Pathan has on Saturday (September 11) took a potshot at the English cricket pundits who are blaming the upcoming Indian Premier League (IPL 2021) for the cancellation of the fifth and final Test between England and India in Manchester.
Many including Michael Vaughan have been criticizing the Indian cricket team for opting out against playing in the fifth and final Test against England in Manchester after several members of the support staff tested positive for COVID-19 and the game was eventually canceled on Friday (September 10).
Indian players were targeted citing they wanted to get into their respective IPL bio-bubbles before the resumption of the second phase of the IPL 2021 in the UAE on September 19 and that’s why they were reluctant to feature in the fifth and final Test if the dates were changed for the Manchester Test.
Reacting to the criticism, Pathan took a dig at the cricket pundits for allegedly blaming the IPL 14 for the cancellation of the final Test against England in Manchester on Friday.
He wrote on Twitter: “My tooth fell off, can I blame the @IPL ?? #easytarget. (sic)”
Noteworthy, Mumbai Indians’ skipper Rohit Sharma, pacer Jasprit Bumrah, and batsman Suryakumar Yadav have reached Abu Dhabi on Saturday along with their families through a charter flight from Manchester managed by the franchise.
They will now undergo six days of quarantine before joining the MI squad. The Chennai Super Kings players are also expected to land in Dubai on Saturday while Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) is also arranging a charter flight to get Virat Kohli and Mohammed Siraj to Dubai on Sunday.
(With ANI Inputs)
