Cricket West Indies In Talks With Pakistan Cricket Board About Changing T20I Series Schedule Following Delaying Of ODI Series Against Australia

The upcoming 5-match T20I series between hosts West Indies and Pakistan is likely to be shifted back after the West Indies-Australia ODI series was delayed due to the Covid-19 virus entering the bubble.

The second ODI on Thursday was suspended minutes before play was due to begin, with the toss having already taken place, after a covid-19 positive test was announced in the host camp. A non-playing member of the West Indies squad had contracted the virus, and the second ODI was halted.

All the players, officials, the broadcasting crew were immediately returned to the hotel and put into quarantine. Now, they all – a total of 152 people involved in the game – have returned negative tests.

The series is set to resume, however, of course, there is a tweak in the schedule – the second ODI will now be played on Saturday and the third ODI, originally scheduled for Saturday, is shifted to Monday.

The second ODI will resume as things stood on Thursday – Australia had won the toss and elected to bat first, and both the teams were announced. The visitors are currently leading the series 1-0 after Mitchell Starc tore through the West Indies batting line-up with a five-wicket haul.

“Following meetings between Cricket West Indies (CWI) and Cricket Australia (CA) on Friday evening, after earlier discussions with the Barbados Cricket Association (BCA) and the Government of Barbados medical officials, CWI is pleased to announce that the CG Insurance One-Day International (ODI) Series will resume on Saturday and conclude on Monday,” CWI said in a statement.

“The second ODI was suspended on Thursday and will now continue at 2:30pm (local time) on Saturday, with Australia having won the toss and elected to bat at Kensington Oval,” the statement added.

This, however, has put the next in line T20I series between West Indies and Pakistan in a thoughtful situation. The series is originally slated to start on Tuesday, but given that West Indies play the third ODI against Australia on Monday, the CWI may be hoping to convince PCB in making the modification to the start of the T20I series.

“CWI will meet with the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) in the coming days to discuss any necessary changes to the match schedule,” the statement concluded.

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