LONDON – England’s cricket tour of India that was scheduled to start in late September has been postponed until next year, the England and Wales Cricket Board said on Friday.
The move comes after the men’s T20 World Cup, scheduled to be played across Australia in October and November, was also postponed because of the ongoing pandemic. No new dates for the rescheduled tour have been announced.
England’s white-ball tour of the subcontinent was set to include three one-day internationals and three Twenty20 matches. It was intended to serve as a warm-up for the T20 World Cup.
The ECB said the postponed tour will now take place in early 2021. It added that it was working with the Board of Control for Cricket in India to confirm the schedule for India’s test tour of England set for next summer.
Our men's white-ball Tour to India has been postponed until early 2021 👇
— England Cricket (@englandcricket) August 7, 2020
“Now that we have clarity regarding the postponement of ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, it enables us to work with other boards to progress the vital task of optimising the international schedules in the challenging circumstances that we have all been having to address with the Covid-19 pandemic," said ECB chief executive Tom Harrison.
“International cricket between India and England is a highlight of the cricketing calendar and we look forward to working with the BCCI to firm-up the schedules for these eagerly anticipated tours as soon as possible.”
Associated Press (AP)