Another blow?
England were the last team to visit Sri Lanka before the Test tour was postponed due to COVID-19 - File pic Amila Gamage
With England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) not willing to put their players through a two-week quarantine and the sudden spike in COVID-19 positive cases in Sri Lanka, there is uncertainty surrounding the proposed England Test tour to the country.
England was in Sri Lanka in March to play the two-match Test series but returned home just days ahead of the first Test following the global outbreak of the virus. Though dates are yet to be confirmed, both Boards agreed to play it in January next year.
“We are working to ensure the business of international cricket keeps going,” Tom Harrison, the ECB Chief Executive, was quoted as saying. “(But) the Bangladesh tour to Sri Lanka is an understandable situation for the Bangladeshi team; two weeks of quarantine is not an easy thing to agree to for players and I don’t think we would agree to that either. We will not sign off on plans we’re not comfortable with, in terms of our No. 1 priority: the health and wellbeing of players and staff on these tours.”
The tour does not seem possible given the current situation in Sri Lanka. Board sources said, however, that they would hold discussions with health authorities to get quarantine rules relaxed once the current situation is under control. They tried desperately to get the rules changed to host Bangladesh in a three-match Test series but the health authorities stood firm in their decision. The tour was postponed.
“Once the situation eases, we will discuss with health authorities to see how best we could go forward,” an SLC official said. “Cricket is being played elsewhere in a bubble secure environments and I think we must follow a similar line to get cricket back on the track. We cannot postpone these series forever.”
However, with Sri Lanka recording a unprecedented spike in the virus with over a thousand cases reported during the week, it’s highly unlikely that rules will be bent to accommodate a visiting sports team. A similar fate may await the England series.
Sri Lanka cricketers last played a series in February against West Indies. All scheduled tours to the island thereafter were put off due to the pandemic much to the players’ disappointment.
England, who hosted four international teams during the recent summer, allowed visiting teams to train while being on a government-approved bio-secure bubble – a similar protocol SLC expects the Government of Sri Lanka to approve in their bid to resume cricket tours.
The current situation has also put the proposed Lanka Premier League in danger of cancellation this year. The Board this week further postponed the player draft scheduled for this Friday (9) owing to the health situation. SLC fears, given the strict quarantine procedures, it will face a massive challenge to attract the big names in the game. The first edition of the T20 league is scheduled for mid-November this year and, with four out of the five team owners yet to be announced, it will most probably be a non-starter.