Speaking to the English newspaper Mid-Day, Shastri said that the entire United Kingdom is ‘open’ and there are no restrictions of any kind.
In response to the allegations leveled against him, he said, ‘The whole country is open. Anything could have happened from the first Test as well.
Apart from Shastri, bowling coach Bharat Arun, fielding coach R. Sridhar and physiotherapist Dr Nitin Patel were sent to isolation from the fourth test itself. But before the Manchester Test, assistant physio Yogesh Parmar was also found to be Kovid-19 positive. After this the Manchester Test was cancelled.
Shastri praised Kohli and Co. for the Indian team’s stellar performance in England. He said, ‘The England audience must have seen such good cricket after a long time and certainly from an Indian team. It’s covid time but it’s a good game. The Indian team showed a great game by the players on both sides of the river Thames.
It should be noted here that Shastri was referring to the performance of the Indian team at Lord’s and The Oval. India won both the grounds. The River Thames flows through the City of London, with the Oval on one side and the Lord’s Plain on the other.
The Indian team won the Test series 2–1 in Australia before winning in England. This was India’s second consecutive Test series win in Australia.
Shastri said, ‘No team has shown such a game in Kovid as India has shown in Australia and England. Ask any expert here.