Bangladesh tour of Sri Lanka called off

The Bangladesh tour of Sri Lanka has been postponed once again due to COVID-19 health protocols, Sri Lanka Cricket announced.on  Monday. The series ran into further chaos with the visitors insisting on a three-day quarantine on arrival to the island, a demand the health authorities have rejected outright.

Sri Lanka has insisted on a 14-day mandatory isolation for foreign arrivals to the island in a bid to curtail the spread of the COVID-19, but has in principle agreed to allow the players to begin training from the eighth day onwards in a bio-secure bubble.

However, the latest demand of the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) leaves Sri Lanka with no options but to postpone the three-match Test series indefinitely, until a new window is found during the current cricket cycle.

The Bangladeshis who moved into bio-secure bubble last Sunday were expected to arrive in the island today but with no agreement over the quarantine procedure, they have put off their travel plans.

Interestingly, three members from the Bangladesh touring party had tested positive for COVID-19. Abu Jayed became the latest Bangladesh cricketer to test positive following Saif Hassan and trainer Nic Lee diagnosed with the virus two weeks back.

Fast bowler Jayed was in the 27-man camp ahead of the upcoming tour of Sri Lanka.

The tour, which was scheduled for July-August, was postponed because of the COVID-19 pandemic.