Former England skipper Nasser Hussain doesn’t think it would be appropriate to criticize India for the cancellation of the fifth Test against England in Manchester. He believes India are not the villain of this situation but the relentless cricket schedule.

Several England cricketers including Michael Vaughan and Steve Harmison have blamed the Indian Premier League for the cancellation of the Manchester Test.

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The fifth Test was scheduled to start on Friday, September 10, but another Covid-19 case in the Indian camp jeopardized things.

Nasser Hussain believes India were not the villain here but ‘cricket’s relentless schedule’ was.

“The people I felt most sorry for during Friday’s extraordinary turn of events were a group in our game who habitually deserve more respect – the fans – and the villain of the piece was not India but cricket’s relentless schedule,” Hussain wrote in his column for Daily Mail.

Hussain then went on to explain the cancelled Test would have an impact on the thousands of spectators who had made their way to Manchester to catch two really good teams in battle it out for the series.

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“On Friday afternoon, I boarded a train south full of gutted supporters. Hours earlier, some poor bloke from Edinburgh came up to me at the ground and asked me for a photograph. He faced a long journey home.

“Spectators are always the last people we think about. Slow over-rates and going off early for bad light when there are floodlights is one thing. This is quite another.

“Sure, they will get their money back but they will not get to see any action, will not be reimbursed for travel and accommodation and are missing out on what might have been a thrilling conclusion to a fabulous series,” he added.

India were leading the five-match series by 2-1 before the fifth Test, which stands cancelled. Both boards are in talk when to host this Test.