Bangladesh tour of Sri Lanka postponed due to coronavirus outbreak

Dubai:The International Cricket Council (ICC) on Wednesday announced the postponement of Bangladesh's tour to Sri Lanka due to the outbreak of pandemic novel coronavirus. Bangladesh was scheduled to play three Tests in Sri Lanka in July, which were to be a part of the ICC World Test Championship. 

"Bangladesh's tour to Sri Lanka, scheduled to take place next month, has been postponed," the ICC posted on its twitter handle.Sri Lanka Cricket, too, issued a statement, saying that Bangladesh pulled out due to its players' "lack of preparation" due to the pandemic.

"...the Bangladesh Cricket Board has informed SLC that a conducive environment has still not arrived for their players to take part in an international cricket series, purely due to the lack of preparation for its players, caused by the COVID-19 pandemic," SLC said in a statement.

"...BCB and Sri Lanka Cricket have agreed that Bangladesh National Team's tour of Sri Lanka which was scheduled to be held during July 2020 will not take place and will be deferred to a mutually planned later date," it added.

Earlier, New Zealand's test tour of Bangladesh on Tuesday was also postponed indefinitely due to health and safety concerns amid the coronavirus crisis. 

Kane Williamson's side were scheduled to play two matches of the ICC World Test Championship in August-September in Bangladesh.

Bangladesh cricket has been hit hard by the virus after three of its players - former captain Mashrafe Mortaza, spinner Nazmul Islam and opener Nafees Iqbal tested positive for Covid-19 earlier this month.

Bangladesh has reported more than 119,000 infections and over 1,500 deaths due to the novel coronavirus. (UNI)