COVID-19 pandemic: Bangladesh calls off Sri Lanka cricket tour

COLOMBO: Bangladesh Cricket Board has formally called off their Test series in Sri Lanka amid the COVID-19 epidemic.

Officials in Colombo said on Wednesday the country’s team was due to play three Tests in late July; however, the tour was in doubt because of the worrying spread of the virus in  South Asia.

On the other hand, the Sri Lankan cricket board officials said Bangladesh had pulled out due to “the lack of preparation for its players, caused by the COVID-19 outbreak”.

Meanwhile, former Bangladesh skipper Mashrafe Mortaza — who remains in the Test squad — and left-arm spinner Nazmul Islam tested positive for the COVID-19 June 20.

This is the second international engagement to be taken off Sri Lanka’s cricket calendar in June 2020. India pulled out of limited-overs series scheduled for late June.

The Sri Lankan cricket team had begun its second domestic training camp in Kandy on Monday to prepare for the Twenty20 world cup to be played in Australia in September 2020.

The island nation has reported 11 COVID-19 deaths and some 1,998 infections. It has eased lockdown steps however resumed economic activity in the country. Bangladesh, meanwhile, has confirmed over 122,660 COVID-19 cases and more than 1,500 deaths so far.

However,  the authorities had allowed restarting economic activities after lifting a months-long lockdown on 29 May.