The England and Wales Cricket Board put an end to speculation surrounding the uncertainty over the 5th Test of a 5-Test series between England and India, which did not get underway as scheduled in September. the ECB on Friday said the Test has been rescheduled and will take place from July 1, 2022.

ECB also clarified that the Test will be part of the series that remains incomplete. India are leading England 2-1 after they won the two Tests in London in August-September.

Notably, India Today had reported that the BCCi was not in favour of a suspension of the final Test. Notably, the rescheduled Test match will be played before India and England are set to play the limited-overs series. The ECB, earlier this year, had confirmed the two teams will be in 3 ODIs and as many T20Is from July 1.

The ECB confirmed on Friday that the 3 T20Is and the 3 ODis will get underway after the completion of the 5th Test.

“The fifth match of the LV= Insurance Test Series between England Men and India Men has been rescheduled and will now take place in July 2022,” the ECB said in a statement.

“With India leading the series 2-1, the concluding fifth match will now take place from July 1, 2022, at Edgbaston, following an agreement between the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) and the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI),” it added.

Delighted that India-England series will have rightful conclusion: Jay Shah

“I am delighted that the England-India Test series will now have its rightful conclusion. The four Test matches were riveting, and we needed a fitting finale,” said Jay Shah, the Honorary Secretary of BCCI.

“The BCCI recognizes and respects the traditional form of the game and is also mindful of its role and obligations towards fellow Board Members. In the last two months, both BCCI and the ECB have been engaged in discussions and our efforts were aimed at finding a suitable window. I thank the ECB for their understanding and patience in finding an amicable solution.”

Notably, the 5th Test was not able to go ahead as scheduled as India were not able to field a team for the 5th Test in Manchester due to Covid-19 concerns in their camp.

The fate of the Test came under doubt after multiple members of India’s support staff, including head coach Ravi Shastri, tested positive for Covid-19. However, all Indian players had returned negative results in the second round of RT-PCR Covid-19 tests on the eve of the Test, leading to expectations that the Test will go ahead as scheduled.

Physio Yogesh Parmar was the fourth member of the Indian support staff to test positive for Covid-19 after Shastri, bowling coach Bharat Arun and fielding coach R Sridhar returned positive tests in the lead up to the 4th Test at Oval in London.

Iindia went ahead with the 4th Test and won the encounter despite not having the key members of the support staff in the dressing room. The likes of Shastri, Arun and Sridhar were in quarantine as India took the field at the Oval.

Revised schedule: India tour of England 2022

Rescheduled fifth Test, Edgbaston – 1-5 July

1st T20I, Ageas Bowl – 7 July

2nd T20I, Edgbaston – 9 July

3rd T20I, Trent Bridge – 10 July

1st ODI, Kia Oval – 12 July

2nd ODI, Lord’s – 14 July

3rd ODI, Emirates Old Trafford – 17 July