Bangladesh’s three-Test tour of Sri Lanka has been postponed yet again following a disagreement between the two boards over quarantine guidelines. Despite negotiating for weeks, the two cricket boards failed to reach an agreement regarding the quarantine guidelines.
Sri Lankan health authorities had listed out 14 days as the quarantine period in which the players’ movement is strictly limited to their hotel rooms.
Nazmul Hassan, BCB president said, “They (SLC) have told us that they couldn’t do anything about this point. We have informed them that we have to reschedule the tour to a time when things will improve. We cannot play the ICC Test Championship according to their guidelines. Their cricket board and sports ministry tried very hard. They agreed to all but one of our requirements, but that one is the real one. The 14-day quarantine.”
Bangladesh’s cricket team was due to travel to Sri Lanka on Sept 27. SLC honorary secretary Mohan De Silva was hopeful that the visiting team would arrive in Sri Lanka in due time.
Mohan De Silva said,“We have been negotiating with them, and they have sent us their requirements. We’ve done extremely well to keep the pandemic under control, and therefore there are strict health guidelines and protocols we have to follow. We’re discussing with them, and I’m sure we will be able to resolve this and expect the Bangladesh team to arrive in Sri Lanka without much delay.”
A proposed tour schedule was earlier drawn up, stating that the visitors would be able to start training a day after arriving in Sri Lanka. However, proceedings took a hit earlier this month when the health authorities of the host nation insisted that the visitors must be under quarantine in their hotel room for 14 days before they can begin training in isolation.
BCB pressed ahead with the plan for the squad as 27 players began training last week with the coaching and support staff. They were supposed to go into a bio-secure bubble in Sri Lanka, but those plans have been shelved as of now.