The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has said that they are still following the ‘wait and watch policy when it comes to the tour of Sri Lanka for a limited-overs series in August. With an eye on the coronavirus pandemic, the board is clear that it will abide by the directions issued by the government as player safety is priority.
A top BCCI official said that it was too early to comment on the tour considering that it is almost two months away and the situation with regards to the pandemic keeps changing and the government is constantly pushing out fresh directives with an eye on human lives.
“Wait and watch is what we are following for the moment. It is still two months away and like we have said time and again, safety is priority and we will abide by the directives issued by the government. Too early to answer the question whether the tour will happen or not. We have not taken any decision as of now.”
“Also, the situation with regards to the pandemic is constantly changing and the government has been on top in an effort to control the pandemic and help normalcy return. So, we will take a call when the time is appropriate,” the official said.
According to a report in ‘The Island’ newspaper in Sri Lanka, BCCI had confirmed to their Sri Lankan counterparts that the postponed series between the countries can go ahead provided the Indian government gives clearance.
The tour is supposed to consist of three ODIs and as many T20Is, previously scheduled for June but had to be postponed due to travel restrictions in both the countries.
Cricket Age had published months ago that the BCCI has not made “any commitment” to tour Sri Lanka and South Africa in August and there have only been discussions about such a possibility.
“Firstly, we need to take one step at a time in the current scenario and you do realize that some of our players are stuck in Mumbai and Bengaluru — two zones which are highly affected by the pandemic,” a top BCCI official had told Cricket Age on May 25 .
“Without even going into the question on whether the Indian team would travel without the likes of Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma among others, I would say will international travel be permissible? So, we all need to wait and watch how things unfold,” he added.
Since none of the Indian players have played any competitive cricket since March, they will need to train for a few weeks before returning to international cricket. BCCI can only take a call once it hears something from the government of India.
Sri Lanka, among the few countries to have managed the pandemic to a large extent, has already got its players into training together, but on the other hand the BCCI is still finding it difficult to resume the national team’s training even, as the situation in the country is still grim in fighting against Covid-19 and is in the ‘danger zone’ with 14 other countries.
