England will not play their upcoming Test series against Sri Lanka due to novel coronavirus outbreak. ECB announced on Friday that the two-match series has been called off after discussing with Sri Lanka Cricket.
England Sri Lanka Test series called off
The novel coronavirus seems to have a huge impact on all sporting events around the globe. Either match are being played at empty stadiums or being cancelled. The idea is to avoid events attracting a large number of audiences. England team was supposed to play a two-match Test series in Sri Lanka starting from March 29. But the increasing number of coronavirus cases forced the two concerned boards to cancel the series.
England Cricket Board released a statement on Friday saying, “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.”
Decision was taken after consulting Sri Lanka Cricket
ECB cited the physical and mental wellbeing of the players and support teams as the reason of the cancellation. This is the first international cricket series to be postponed or rescheduled for the outbreak of Covid-19. ECB insisted, “At this time, the physical and mental wellbeing of our players and support teams is paramount. We will now look to bring them home to their families as soon as possible. These are completely unprecedented times, and decisions like this go beyond cricket.”
The England board went on to thank Sri Lanka Cricket board as well for understanding the situation and respond accordingly. ECB shared about future plans of touring Sri Lanka to play cricket later. “We would like to thank our colleagues at Sri Lanka Cricket for their outstanding support and assistance throughout this situation. We look forward to returning to Sri Lanka in the very near future to fulfil this important Test series.”
