BCCI cancels the ODI series between India and South Africa due to coronavirus threat

Following the postponement of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2020 season, the BCCI has decided to cancel the remaining two ODIs of the India-South Africa series. The first ODI of the contest in Dharamsala was washed out due to rain and the rest of the matches were set to be played behind closed doors amid coronavirus outbreak. Both teams had already arrived in Lucknow ahead of the second ODI to be played on Sunday.

Even for the first ODI, there was not much crowd present in the stadium. Though the fans were excited for the game. Moreover, the organisers were confident of a full-house in Lucknow before the Indian Government made it clear that the spectators will not be allowed to watch the matches in the stadium. Coronavirus pandemic has affected most of the sporting events globally already.

Road Safety World Series was the first cricket tournament to be called off while England’s tour of Sri Lanka was also called off on Friday. Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) decided not to send its team to Pakistan for the remainder of their tour. The BCB has already postponed the Asia XI vs World XI series while Australia Women’s tour of South Africa was also called off.

The news of the ODI series between India and South Africa getting cancelled was confirmed by India Today and it seems that the visitors will return home as soon as possible now. The series will now be rescheduled to a later date and both BCCI and Cricket South Africa (CSA) will jointly work in regards with the same.

Only Australia-New Zealand series in progress now

Meanwhile, only the ODI series between Australia and New Zealand is in progress now. The first ODI between the two teams was played in front of the empty stadium at the SCG on Friday. It remains to be seen now if this series also cancelled with the second and third ODI set to be played on March 15 and 20 respectively.

Moreover, Kane Richardson was quarantined ahead of the series opener after the cricketer suffered from sore throat. He was tested for Coronavirus and thankfully the results were negative. While Sean Abbott was called up as cover for him in the squad, it will be interesting to see if Richardson will be available for the second ODI.