On Friday, Cricket Australia officially postponed a one-off Test against the Afghanistan cricket team and ODI series against New Zealand, citing the complexity of scheduling international matches because of the ongoing Coronavirus pandemic.
Cricket Australia was to host Afghanistan later this year in November at Perth while they were to host the New Zealand cricket team in January 2021 but both the upcoming tournament has been postponed to the next summer (2021-2022).
Cricket Australia’s interim chief executive officer Nick Hockley was quoted as saying by cricket.com.au.
“Cricket Australia looks forward to working with our good friends at the Afghanistan Cricket Board and New Zealand Cricket to deliver the matches at a time when, hopefully, the restrictions brought on by the COVID19 pandemic have eased,”
As the ongoing edition of the Indian Premier League will conclude on November 10 and a number of overseas players from Australia and Afghanistan competing in the UAE would face issues in completing the 14-days quarantine period upon their arrival in Australia.
Meanwhile, the Indian cricket team led by Virat Kohli will be competing in a four-Test series, starting December 3 in Brisbane, and a three-match ODI series. Talking about the same, Hockley confirmed that there is no threat to the scheduled tour by the Indian cricket team. He said:
“We all worked incredibly hard to make the series happen this summer, but the challenges around international travel and quarantine restrictions ultimately convinced all parties that the series would need to be played at a later date.”
He added:
“Cricket Australia looks forward to welcoming the Indian men’s team for a full schedule of matches this summer in what promises to be an incredible contest across all three formats.”
