There was a sigh of relief yesterday at Sri Lanka Cricket board room as confirmation came from Bombay that the Indian cricket team was willing to tour the island in August.. Board of Control for Cricket in India had confirmed their Sri Lankan counterparts that the postponed series between the countries can go ahead provided the Indian government gives clearance.
Sri Lanka gets green light to host 2020 Asia Cup
SLC will now write to Ministry of Sports seeking permission to stage bilateral cricket. Once the clearance has been given, the board is confident that they can negotiate the details of tour with BCCI.
With most restrictions imposed during lockdown relaxed now following outbreak of Covid-19 pandemic and with tourism expected to return in August, SLC officials expect Ministry of Sports to give clearance.
India were scheduled to play three ODIs and three T-20 Internationals here in June but following travel restrictions and given the high demand the Indian team has, there were fears that the tour will be cancelled. SLC were depending heavily on the series to boost up their revenues through television rights.
Bangladesh’s tour of Sri Lanka in doubt as senior players express reservations
Asked whether the series will be played behind closed doors, an official told The Island that this is not what SLC wanted. “Ideally, we would want to fill up 30 to 40 percent of the venues. Spectators can maintain the one meter distance and watch games. However, the final call will be made by health officials. We will follow all their instructions,” he said.
SLC will also host the Asia Cup with the six nation tournament being shifted from Pakistan to Sri Lanka. This had been confirmed during a meeting of the Asian Cricket Council via teleconference yesterday.
The outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic affected all sporting activities across the globe and Sri Lanka too suffered with the Test series against England and the limited overs series against South Africa being postponed. SLC confirmed that both series will now take place next year.
Meanwhile there is no confirmation on whether the Test series against Bangladesh will go ahead as per schedule or postponed. Bangladesh were expected to play three Tests in Sri Lanka but there has been no communication from Bangladesh Cricket Board so far, SLC sources said.
The first cricket series since the outbreak of pandemic will take place in England with West Indies taking on the hosts. West Indies arrived in Manchester yesterday and are going through quarantine prior to the series.
