India’s limited-overs tour of Sri Lanka in June/July is likely to be postponed indefinitely due to the Covid-19 pandemic despite the optimism of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC).
The tour consists of three ODIs and three T20Is as per the Future Tours Program of the International Cricket Council (ICC).
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Last week, SLC wrote to BCCI officially that they’re willing to stage the games behind closed doors. The BCCI has reportedly responded saying they will only travel to Sri Lanka once the Government of India gives the green light to resume travel.
Another problem would be whether the Indian Team would agree on the mandatory 14-day quarantine period put in place for all visitors arriving in Sri Lanka.
Sri Lanka Cricket’s ‘bio-secure’ training plans pushed to June
Hosting the tour will be a logistical nightmare for SLC and there are still plenty of questions to be answered for both SLC and BCCI with the safety of the players of paramount importance.
Both, Sri Lankan and Indian cricketers have also not commenced their training due to the lockdown for the past two months.
“Taking into the account the restrictions on air travel and movement of people till May 31, the BCCI will wait further before organizing a skill-based training camp for its contracted players. The BCCI will study guidelines at the state level and will work in sync with state cricket associations to chalk out a programme for skill-based training at a local level,” BCCI said in a media statement.
BCB won’t rule out Sri Lanka tour just yet
The Sri Lankan players are set to recommence their training sessions through a residential training camp from the first week of June abiding to the health guidelines and strict measures. With curfew still in place in Colombo district, which has the most number of cases in the island, SLC are looking at the possibility to facilitate the residential training camp in Dambulla or Hambanthota.
“We are certainly trying to get our players back as soon as we can, especially the bowlers. We have to get them back to their speeds and make them physically ready to go again. We had constant dialogues with Ashley (de Silva) at Sri Lanka Cricket and doctor Duminda (Chief Medical Officer). They are keeping us to speed with exactly what has been going on. We’ve set a target to get the players back on the 1st of June. Let’s hope that unfolds in the right way to get the boys back on the training ground.” Sri Lanka Head Coach Mickey Arthur told ThePapare last week.
Sri Lanka last played a home series against West Indies in March before the England Test series in March was postponed due to the coronavirus threat. The South Africa limited-overs tour, initially scheduled for June, was also postponed indefinitely.
Recently, ICC postponed the Women’s World Cup Qualifier tournament which was to be played in July in Sri Lanka due to the Covid-19 crisis.
India’s series against South Africa at home was cancelled mid-way in March, while their calendar for April/May which was reserved for the Indian Premier League (IPL) has also been postponed indefinitely.
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As per reliable sources, BCCI would prefer to restart playing International Cricket only after staging the IPL. They will however work with the respective boards regarding the postponed tours to reschedule at a later date and honour their international commitments.
Speaking to IANS, a BCCI official said that while it is still some time away, it looks almost impossible that the Indian team can travel to Sri Lanka for a limited-overs series as early as June or July.
“I would say it is close to impossible at present. Firstly, we need to take one step at a time in the current scenario and you do realize that some of our players are stuck in Mumbai and Bengaluru — two zones which are highly affected by the pandemic. Without even going into the question on whether the Indian team would travel without the likes of Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma among others, I would say will international travel be permissible? So, we all need to wait and watch how things unfold. “
Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) are currently looking to finalize their broadcast deal for the next cycle of three years. It has been delayed due to the Covid-19 crisis and the chances of attracting a higher bid is diminishing each day since there’s uncertainty around when cricket returns. The forthcoming India tour and the postponed England Test series is set to be around 65 to 75 percent from the entire broadcast deal.
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Currently, Sri Lanka has 900+ coronavirus cases with 500+ recoveries while 9 deaths have been reported. In India there are close to 100,000 cases with 3000+ deaths reported.
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