A bio-bubble in England is alarming, admits Aakash Chopra as virus breaches Indian camp in Sri Lanka
After the Krunal Pandya l was infected with Covid-19, the former cricketer Aakash Chopra is concerned about the fate of the “India vs England” test series, as there will be a soft bio-bubble in the UK.
Disruption in cricketing events due to Covid-19 are increasingly becoming common. Even though the matches are being played behind closed doors, inside bio-secure environments, yet the virus has managed to break in. After the second T20I between India and Sri Lanka was postponed on Tuesday due to Krunal Pandya’s Covid-19 test report coming positive, former Indian cricketer Aakash Chopra has admitted being concerned over the forthcoming England series.
Chopra, in a video on his YouTube channel, was quite surprised seeing the virus breaching the hard bio-bubble in Sri Lanka. What worried Chopra was the fact that there will be a soft bio-bubble in England as the local government there has lifted all Covid-19 related restrictions from July 19.
As per the new norms of the UK government, even wearing masks and observing social distancing isn’t mandatory. The 5-match Test series between India and England, hence, is at greater risk when it comes to Covid-19 than the ongoing India-Sri Lanka series.
“Krunal Pandya tested positive despite being in a strict bio-bubble. That makes me think what is happening in England. Crowds are attending The Hundred and interacting with each other. Even amid COVID positive cases in the country, the festival is carrying on. Crowds are likely to attend the India-England Test matches as well and it is being said that there won’t be a strict bio-bubble but only a soft one. I do understand that COVID has taken a toll on everyone. But if COVID can breach a strict bio-bubble, I don’t even want to think what can happen in a soft bubble.”
The cricketer-turned-pundit also questioned how exactly the virus managed to get in as neither are the players going out nor is any outsider coming in.
“How was the bio-secure bubble breached? Matches are being played behind closed doors. No players are going out, it is a very tight tournament. Players are staying at the designated hotel. They are using the same bus to travel to the ground and they are staying in the same dressing how. Then how did this virus breach the bio-bubble? And if it has, Krunal might not be alone, as we have seen in the IPL, when multiple cases later came to the fore.”
