How Manchester Test became a legend without a ball bowled

“Manchester Test cancelled and Team India is flying back home!”

If that headline feels familiar, you’re not imagining things. No, this isn’t news from 2025 — we’re rewinding the clock to 2021. Back to a match that never happened, but left behind echoes still heard in cricketing corridors today.

It was meant to be the grand finale. India was leading the series 2-1 in England. The stage was set, the crowd was buzzing, and umpires were on standby. Just one more Test in Manchester stood between India and a historic overseas triumph.

And then — bang!

A real-life plot twist no one saw coming. Four members of the Indian support staff, including head coach Ravi Shastri, tested positive for COVID-19. Given their close contact with players, fielding a team safely was out of the question.

In an instant, excitement turned into uncertainty.

Headlines turned into questions:

“Will India forfeit the match and settle for a draw?”
“Will the ECB take legal action against the BCCI?”

Eventually, it was decided that the match would be rescheduled for July 2022. But by then, everything had changed. India still led the series 2-1, but the energy — the rhythm — was lost. Where Virat Kohli once captained the side, Jasprit Bumrah now stepped in as a stand-in leader. And with India out of sync, England pounced, pulling off their highest-ever successful run chase in Test history to level the series.

For a match that never happened in 2021, it caused enough chaos to last an entire season.

And now, in 2025, as India once again flies home with a Manchester Test scrapped, history seems to be trolling us with déjà vu. Because cricket, as we’ve learned, isn’t just about the scoreboard. It’s about twists, timing, and occasionally, cancelled climaxes.

Some matches are remembered for what happened. This one? For what never did.

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