England’s two-match test series in Sri Lanka starting next week has been postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic, the England and Wales cricket board (ECB) said on Friday.
The first test was scheduled to start in Galle on March 19th and the second game set for Colombo from March 27th.
“Due to the Covid-19 pandemic worsening globally, and after discussions with Sri Lanka cricket, we have made the decision to return our players to the UK and postpone the forthcoming test series between Sri Lanka and England,” ECB said in a statement.
“At this time, the physical and mental wellbeing of our players and support teams is paramount. We will now look to bring them home to their families as soon as possible.
“These are completely unprecedented times, and decisions like this go beyond cricket.”
The series joins a long list of sporting events affected by the virus. The start of the Indian Premier League Twenty20 tournament has also been postponed, until April 15th.
The Indian government said late on Wednesday it would cancel almost all visas issued for travel to India until the same date, in one of the most far-reaching attempts to prevent the spread of the virus.
