India batting coach Vikram Rathour has revealed that the players were distracted after head coach Ravi Shastri tested positive for COVID-19. The medical team of the BCCI had isolated Shastri, bowling coach Bharat Arun, fielding coach R Sridhar, and physiotherapist Nitin Patel as a precautionary measure.
"Of course, we are missing them massively. Ravi Bhai (Ravi Shastri), B Arun, and R Shridar, have been an extremely important part of this setup and they have done extremely well (in) the last five-six years and played a major role in the team doing well, “ Rathour said after the end of day's play.
"But this is what it is. That's the fact that they are not here. So, it was in the morning, I think, a bit of a distraction, we had a word, we spoke, (and) decided that we need to focus on what is in hand, which is cricket," said Rathour.
India handed England a target of 368 runs in the second inning of the fourth Test at Kennington Oval after opener Rohit Sharma scored his first overseas Test century while Cheteshwar Pujara, Rishabh Pant and Shardul Thakur chipped in with individual fifties.
England on the other side, began the proceedings well during the chase and were 77/0, needing 291 runs with Haseeb Hameed and Rory Burns unbeaten at the crease at the end of the penultimate day.