England has been facing the third wave of the global pandemic novel coronavirus which has affected players and support staff as well. And, England Cricket Board’s Director of Cricket and former cricketer Ashley Giles has stated that the relaxation given to players might have led to a breakout of the virus as well. So far, seven members of the team have been tested positive.

However, there could be a few reasons for it as well. Firstly, players were allowed to play golf and exercise in open areas as well. Moreover, they were staying in hotels where other guests were also staying as well. Although players weren’t allowed to go outside amid this situation, ECB stated that these relaxations were necessary for the mental health of the players as they had spent too much time in quarantine.

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“This year we tried to operate in what we called ‘safe environments. Just from the nature of what we were doing this year, playing all around the country, travelling a lot, hotels weren’t sole use. We were sharing certain spaces within the hotel but not key areas like eating areas. And given this [delta] variant, which is clearly more infectious, the risk of us catching infection in the group was obviously going to go up,” Ashley Giles said to Cricbuzz in an exclusive chat.

“I don’t believe we’ve gambled at all. We are fully aware of the risks – no one is more than us. That is knife edge we are working on all the time. As well as looking after our people and keeping them sane as much as anything, we’re protecting the revenues of the whole game. And it’s a really difficult balance to strike,” Ashley Giles further added.

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However, England will play the five-match Test series against India in August as well. For that, Indian players are currently in England for the upcoming series.