Bangladesh ‘s tour to Sri Lanka postponed

Due to the fact that the Bangladesh Cricket team have not been able to commence training due to increasing cases of COVID-19 across the country, with the Sher-e-Bangla stadium, where the Bangladeshi Cricketers are supposed to train, well within the red zone of the virus, it has been decided to postpone their tour to Sri […]

By CricXtasy Staff Jun 28, 2020, 12:43 IST

Bangladesh ‘s tour to Sri Lanka postponed

Due to the fact that the Bangladesh Cricket team have not been able to commence training due to increasing cases of COVID-19 across the country, with the Sher-e-Bangla stadium, where the Bangladeshi Cricketers are supposed to train, well within the red zone of the virus, it has been decided to postpone their tour to Sri Lanka for a 3 Test match series, after the Bangladesh Cricket Board informed Sri Lanka Cricket about the same.

Cases of COVID-19 in Bangladesh’s has crossed the 100,000 mark, with 1,502 deaths officially recorded on June 23. Earlier this week, cricketers Mashrafe Mortaza and Nazmul Islam, as well as former batsman Nafees Iqbal, tested positive for the virus.

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A day before Bangladesh’s tour to Sri Lanka got deferred, New Zealand also postponed their tour to Bangladesh for a two Test match series, citing the increasing number of cases in the country. Bangladesh Cricket Board chief executive Nizamuddin Chowdhury said that the board considered the health and safety of the players when deciding on the postponement.
“In the present COVID-19 pandemic scenario, hosting a full cricket series in August 2020 will be a challenge in terms of preparations and we cannot take chances with the safety and health of players, support staff and related stakeholders. Under these circumstances, the BCB and NZC have felt that the best way forward would be to defer the series. We realise that this will be hugely disappointing for the players and officials of both teams, not to mention the fans of the two nations but I must thank NZC for its understanding and for recognising the rationale behind such a decision,” he stated.

Since March, the Bangladesh Cricket team have had 5 postponements so far. Following the second Test against Pakistan in Karachi scheduled in April, the tour of the UK and Ireland in May and the home series against Australia (May) and New Zealand (August-September) have all been postponed.