Sri Lanka strict for Bangladesh, lenient to host England

Bangladesh’s tour of Sri Lanka comprising three Test matches scheduled for August this year was postponed because the Bangladesh team were asked to undergo a mandatory 14-day quarantine on arrival in Sri Lanka. 

But surprisingly the 14-day mandatory quarantine is not a requirement for the England team as Sri Lanka Cricket confirmed the date for the home series against visiting England in January next year, reports Daily FT.

“England will arrive around January 3 and will have about 11 days before the first Test, which will be played from January 14-18. The second Test will take place from January 23-27,” said SLC CEO Ashley de Silva, confirming the dates.

According to the report, England will not play any warm-up games against any Sri Lankan opposition, but take part in two practice matches among themselves. 

De Silva said the England team would quarantine themselves for 14 days in the United Kingdom prior to leaving for Sri Lanka.

“They would be coming on a chartered flight and will undergo the required PCR (Polymerase Chain Reaction) test before going into a bubble,” he said.

The series is part of the World Test Championship.

It was postponed from March this year following the outbreak of Covid-19.

Meanwhile, the Daily FT report also says the Sri Lankan team that will make a two-Test tour to South Africa next month will not be required to undergo a quarantine period when they arrive there.

It seems different rules are applicable for different teams as the Sri Lanka health ministry proposed no quarantine for the visiting England team in the island nation, as opposed to the 14-day mandatory quarantine set for the Bangladesh side.

The Sri Lanka-England series was scheduled to be held in March this year but was pushed back due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Bangladesh though were not so lucky as the Sri Lanka health ministry had asked the visiting team to observe 14-day mandatory quarantine at their hotel, and not start training before these two weeks.

Bangladesh even offered to bring the quarantine period down to seven days but the Sri Lanka health ministry refused to move from its original stance, thus leading to the postponement of the tour to a later date next year.

Prior to the tour, comprising three Tests, Bangladesh Cricket Board also said its cricketers would go through multiple Covid-19 tests before departing for Sri Lanka, and also after arriving there.

SLC though had no other option alongside the BCB but to postpone the series after the Sri Lanka health ministry did not change its original stance.