Australia Call Off Their Tour Of Bangladesh Due To Coronavirus Pandemic
Updated - 09 Apr 2020, 06:09 PM
The coronavirus pandemic has accounted for yet another series with Australia’s proposed Test tour of Bangladesh in June joining the long list of fixtures which have been called off in recent times. Sporting events across the world have been suspended due to the outbreak and cricket is not an exception either.
As of now, all the international and domestic fixtures have been called off. And Cricket Australia (CA), on Thursday, confirmed that their tour of Bangladesh has officially been postponed due to health concerns and travel restrictions. The two-match series is a part of the ICC World Test Championship (WTC).
With a number of series suspended, cricket officials face an upheaval task in finding a window in the already crammed international calendar to reschedule the series. The final of the inaugural WTC is scheduled to take place in June next year but reports suggest that it might be rescheduled.
“Postponing the tour is regrettable, but I would like to thank the Bangladesh Cricket Board for the open, honest and responsible discussions that led us to this mutually-agreed position,” CA CEO Kevin Roberts said.
“The health of our people and communities is the number one priority for both Boards and that is reflected in the action we have taken in postponing the two Test matches.
“As we know, the global cricket calendar is very busy but we will do everything we can to honour our commitment to Bangladesh and will continue to work with the BCB on an agreed date,” he added.
The Bangladesh-Australia series is the second WTC series to be officially postponed this year. Last month, England flew home from their tour of Sri Lanka at the start of the global outbreak. Australia face a very tricky challenge in rescheduling the series against Bangladesh because of their crammed calendar.
Their upcoming home summer includes the ICC T20 World Cup, home Tests against Afghanistan and India, home and away ODI campaigns against New Zealand and a Test tour of South Africa.The months of April and May are usually free of international cricket but most of Australia’s big names play in the IPL during that time. Last month, Australia also called off their ODI and T20I series against New Zealand and stated that they would reschedule it. In such a scenario, they face a hard time in taking the slot out for the Test series against Bangladesh.
