The Sports Ministry Friday approved the Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) proposal to host India tour in August with certain conditions, Cricket Age exclusively learns.
Team India was originally scheduled to travel to the island nation from 24th June 2020 for three ODIs and as many T20Is. However, as the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Friday postponed the Indian cricket team’s tour of Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe due to the threat posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, the SLC is now eyeing August to host Virat Kohli led side.
The ministry, in response to SLC letter asking for the approval for the tour in August, has mentioned in its letter that all the members of the touring Indian team should obtain PCR (Polymerase Chain Reaction) report 3 to 5 days prior to the departure and email them to SLC with a copy to institute of Sports medicine.
On arrival, all the members of the Indian team will be tested for the PCR test at the Colombo airport.
The Sports Ministry has further instructed SLC that in case if any player tests positive in PCR test, the tour will go ahead without the participation of the said player.
In fighting against the Coronavirus, the social distancing has been termed as the most effective way to tackle the deadly disease. Thus, the Sports Ministry has clearly stated that the participation of the spectators will be determined Two weeks before the tour, in consultantion with health authorities. However, the total number of spectators should not be more than 20% of the total ground capacity.
During the series, the health guidelines/protocols applied by the ICC, Indian, Sri Lanka authorities should be strictly followed.
The Indian team was last seen in action in the home ODI series against South Africa, which was postponed after the first match amid the rising coronavirus threat. Even the first match of that series could not take place due to rain. However, Sri Lanka is among the few countries to have managed the pandemic to a large extent, has already got its players into training together.
