Stop blaming Virat and Shastri for outbreak of COVID-19 in Indian camp – Farokh Engineer

Farokh Engineer has defended captain Virat Kohli and coach Ravi Shastri after they were lambasted for attending a book launch event.

On August 31, Shastri’s book, titled ‘Stargazing: The Players in My Life’, was launched in England, and the head coach tested positive for Covid-19 five days later. He is in isolation with bowling Coach Bharat Arun, fielding coach R Sridhar and physio Nitin Patel.

“People are blaming Ravi Shastri for it. He has done wonders for Indian cricket. You can’t blame them for going to a book launch. They did not go outside the hotel; they were inside. It’s very easy to blame somebody, to pinpoint somebody,” said Engineer in an interview to Sports Tak.

“People keep coming to us for a selfie, and all the time you can’t say no. Ravi and Virat must have done the same thing or shook hands with people. But how would they know if someone is Covid positive? So you can’t really blame Ravi and Virat although I believe a lot of blame is being laid on him,” added the Engineer.

India were leading 2-1 heading into the fifth and final Test but the match was called off after the outbreak of the virus in the Indian camp.

England media and cricket fans went on to blame Shastri and Virat for the spread of the virus in the visitors’ camp.