Coronavirus: List Of Cricket Fixtures Called Off Due To Pandemic

As the coronavirus pandemic continues to spread, it is wreaking havoc on sporting events. Cricket is one of the worst affected sports in the wake of the pandemic that has taken lives of more than 5,000 people worldwide. Cricket authorities across the globe are postponing or calling off series and tournaments in order to counter the threat.

A number of series and tournaments have been affected this week already. And it would not be at all surprising if more series are called off in the coming days. So as the cricket world anxiously witnesses the events unfold, here is all the update on key cricketing events affected by the virus:

IPL 2020:

The IPL is definitely the most high profile cricket event that has been affected by the pandemic. IPL 2020 was originally slated to start from March 29 and continue till May 24 but the fate of the tournament now lies in the dark. As of now, the BCCI has postponed it till April 15.

There is still no clarity over whether it would go ahead this year. The IPL Governing Council is meeting on March 14 to discuss the way ahead. Latest media reports suggest that the IPL could be off if it does not start by April 20.

India vs South Africa ODIs:

India’s remaining two ODIs against South Africa in Lucknow and Kolkata were called off on Friday. The decision came just a day after BCCI said that the matches will be held in front of empty stands. Later, BCCI said they will work with Cricket South Africa (CSA) to reschedule the 3-match ODI series.

“BCCI along with CSA on Friday announced to reschedule the ongoing ODI series in view of the Novel Corona Virus (COVID-19) outbreak,” BCCI said in a press statement.

“Cricket South Africa will visit India at a later date to play 3 One-day Internationals. The BCCI-CSA will jointly work out the revised schedule,” it added.

Sri Lanka-England Tests:

On Friday, England’s tour of Sri Lanka was postponed due to the current novel coronavirus pandemic. England were in Sri Lanka for a two-Test series starting March 19.

“Due to the Covid-19 pandemic worsening globally, and after discussions with Sri Lanka Cricket, we have today made the decision to return our players to the UK and postpone the forthcoming Test series between Sri Lanka and England,” a press release issued by ECB said.

Australia-New Zealand ODI and T20Is:

On Saturday, the ODI and the forthcoming T20I series between Australia and New Zealand was postponed. Both the teams played the first ODI behind closed doors on Friday at the Sydney Cricket Ground before the cricket boards decided to call off the series.

Australia won the ODI by 71 runs to end their five-match losing streak in ODIs. The teams were to play the second and third ODI on March 15 and 20 respectively. In order to combat the outbreak, New Zealand have decided to enforce a mandatory 14-day self-isolation for anyone who enters its borders from Australia after midnight of Sunday.

This has prompted New Zealand Cricket to bring back their players home at the earliest. The pandemic has also led to the postponement of Australia’s tour of New Zealand that was to follow, where the two teams were to play three T20Is on March 24, 27 and 29.

PSL:

The Pakistan Super League (PSL) will finish four days ahead of schedule after nearly a dozen foreign players withdrew from the event Friday because of the coronavirus outbreak. The playoffs have been scrapped too and the top four teams will now play two semifinals. The remaining four league games will go ahead as scheduled in Lahore and Karachi until Sunday.

Road Safety World Series:

The Road Safety World Series has been postponed to a later date in view of the rising coronavirus threat in Maharashtra.  The organisers said the dates will be announced later.

“(we) have unanimously agreed to reschedule the remaining matches of the Series to a later date. The remaining seven matches in the series will now be played when the situation is conducive to hold public events with large gathering and there are no travel restrictions,” stated a release from the organisers.

The organisers had earlier cancelled the matches which were to be played at the MCA Stadium in Pune and relocated them to the DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai. It had also been earlier decided that the matches would he held in empty stadiums before the games were postponed.

Asia XI vs World XI:

The Bangladesh Cricket Board has postponed the Asia XI vs World XI matches that would have marked the birthday celebrations of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, referred to as father of the nation. These matches were scheduled to take place on March 21 and 22 in Dhaka and were set to include a number of superstars including Virat Kohli, Lasith Malinga and Chris Gayle.