Quarrel over quarantine period postpones BANG's Lanka tour

Dhaka: Bangladesh is not touring Sri Lanka for the three-match Test series supposed to be held in October-November as the cricket boards of both countries could not reach a consensus over the quarantine issue amid coronavirus pandemic.

Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) President Nazmul Hassan Papon confirmed the development in a press briefing.

BCB Boss said, Sri Lanka had sent us a letter about restrictions of our tour. We have reviewed it. It is not possible to tour the country right now maintaining a 14-day quarantine mentioned in the letter. After informing them, they discussed the matter with their government.

But according to their government, a 14-day quarantine is mandatory and it must be maintained. "It is not possible to tour Sri Lanka maintaining the 14-day quarantine right now. Cricketers will not have mental state to play cricket at the end of a long quarantine. So we are not willing to go on tour now. When the situation improves, we will think about the tour," he added.

The tour was originally supposed to take place in July-August this year, but due to the Covid-19 situation, had to be rescheduled for October-November. This series is a part of the ongoing World Test Championship.(UNI)