Earlier this month, there was a Sri Lanka tour of team India scheduled to take place, which has been called off because of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The ICC declared the called off news on the social media platforms and it is found that the Board of Control for Cricket (BCCI) informed the Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) board that it is not secure for the cricketers to tour Sri Lanka in this critical situation.
In a tweet, ICC quoted “The Sri Lanka tour of India, which was planned to take place at the end of this month has been called off because of the COVID-19 pandemic.”
India's tour to Sri Lanka, which was scheduled to take place later this month, has become the latest series to be postponed due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. pic.twitter.com/nqO3urKiNP
— ICC (@ICC) June 11, 2020
Earlier, India has planned to participate in three ODIs and a couple of T20Is with the team of Sri Lanka on the last dates of June and it would be continued till July. The final dates had not been confirmed.
Arun Dhumal, BCCI treasurer told PTI “it is near to impossible to proceed the tournament in June-July and we have communicated about it to the Sri Lanka Cricket board. But, we are planning to reschedule it for a later date.”
The postponement of the tour was expected as Indian cricketers are yet to take training before going for any tour and in India, the COVID-19 cases are continuously increasing. Till now, there are nearly three lakh positive cases, and more than 8,000 COVID-19 deaths are recorded.
The cricket players will require a minimum of four to six weeks to regain their fitness. However, both the BCCI and SLC are planning to reschedule this tournament most probably in August.
Dhumal said “The Indian cricket team is now out of practice and we are not confirmed when the restrictions on travel will be lifted. So, the tournament can’t possible in June-July.”
A media release from Sri Lanka also confirmed the same.
The SLC stated, “ The BCCI is informed to SLC that because of the ongoing critical situation of COVID-19, the series including ODIs and T20Is will not be feasible.”
