The ECB are reportedly furious with India over what they perceive to be 'reckless behaviour', after the fifth Test of the thrilling series was called off due to "fears of a further increase in the number of COVID cases" within the tourists' camp.
On Thursday, India's assistant physiotherapist Yogesh Parmar became the fourth member of their backroom staff to test positive for coronavirus, heightening concerns among players that the virus could spread to them.
However, the entire squad returned negative Covid tests on Thursday evening, with belief that the final Test in Manchester would go ahead.
According to the Daily Telegraph, India's players signed a letter late last night informing the BCCI that they would not play the Test 'due to fears over Covid'.
As a result, the game was called off, with the ECB initially saying India had forfeited the game.
However, they later retracted that statement and discussions are ongoing about precisely what the result is as it could have major financial ramifications for the ECB.
The Daily Mail reported that England had been pushing for a forfeiture and arguing that the cancellation is not due to Covid because India could have fielded a team.
If it is decided that the cancellation was directly related to Covid then it would mean the ECB's losses would not be covered by the insurance.
The report also states that the ECB are 'furious' with India over 'biosecure breaches by players and back-room staff'.
Last week, India's head coach Ravi Shastri and the entire squad attended a 'busy book launch in a London hotel'.
Shastri later became the first member of the Indian camp to test positive for the virus and the ECB were reportedly left 'fuming' about the decision to attend the book launch as they felt it 'jeopardised the Manchester Test'.
The BCCI are said to have told the ECB 'they were planning a team dinner that night', instead of attending the launch which had 'around 150 unmasked guests'.
