Melbourne: Cricket Australia on Friday postponed a one-off Test against Afghanistan and an ODI series against New Zealand, citing complexity of scheduling international matches during the global coronavirus pandemic. Australia were to host Afghanistan later this year at Perth in November while the Kiwis were to arrive in January 2021 but both the assignments have been postponed to the next summer (2021-22).
The COVID-19 pandemic had also forced a postponement of the T20 World Cup that Australia were to host this year. “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,” CA’s interim chief executive officer Nick Hockley was quoted as saying by cricket.com.au.
The rescheduled Indian Premier League will conclude on November 10 and a number of Australian and Afghanistan players competing in the UAE would have faced issues in completing the mandatory two-week quarantine period upon their arrival in Australia. “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.” Hockley though confirmed that there was no threat to the scheduled tour by the Virat Kohli-led Indian team.
“CA 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.” The Indian team is scheduled to play a four-Test series, starting December 3 in Brisbane, and a three-match ODI series.
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