Australia to host only India in their international summer; Afghanistan Test and New Zealand series postponed due to COVID-19

Cricket Australia (CA) has confirmed that their only Test against Afghanistan will not go ahead as planned due to complexities in scheduling amid COVID-19 pandemic. Earlier, the Test match was expected to be played in the second week of December but things have not materialised as planned and unfortunately, Afghanistan visit down under has been postponed.

Earlier in the day, even New Zealand Cricket (NZC) said that they won’t be touring Australia for a limited-overs series at the end of January. The reason for the same was the quarantine requirements in both the countries at the start and end of the tour which would’ve made it tough for the NZC to schedule their home summer. The postponement of the two series confirms that Australia will only host India in their international summer this year.

Both the series will now be played in the following year and CA CEO, Nick Hockley is hopeful of finding a way to schedule the Afghanistan Test and New Zealand’s visit before the current FTP cycle ends in 2023. “Cricket Australia looks forward to working with our good friends at the Afghanistan Cricket Board and New Zealand Cricket to deliver the matches at a time when, hopefully, the restrictions brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic have eased,” he said according to ESPNCricinfo.

CA looks forward to welcoming Indian team, says Hockley

Hockley was disappointed after their efforts of hosting Afghanistan and New Zealand this season didn’t bear fruits. However, he stated that Cricket Australia is excited to welcome team India under Virat Kohli‘s leadership for a full schedule and hoped that the contest lives up to its merit.

“We all worked incredibly hard to make the series happen this summer, but the challenges around international travel and quarantine restrictions ultimately convinced all parties that the series would need to be played at a later date. CA looks forward to welcoming the Indian men’s team for a full schedule of matches this summer in what promises to be an incredible contest across all three formats,” he further said.