LAHORE: After the postponement of Pakistan’s tour to The Netherlands earlier this month, the national team’s tour to Ireland was also postponed on Thursday due to the crisis situation created by the coronavirus pandemic.

A press release issued by the PCB on Thursday said: “Pakistan Cricket Board and Cricket Ireland today decided to postpone their two-T20I series in July after the Ireland Government announced behind closed-door matches can only be possible after 10 August. This date coincides with Pakistan’s tour to England for three Tests and as many T20Is for which the side is scheduled to depart late July.”

The matches in Dublin were planned for July 12 and 14.

The Pakistan tour of Netherlands for three One-day International scheduled from July 4 was already after the Dutch government had suspended the sporting activities till Sept 1 due to the virus.

The fate of Pakistan’s tour to England for three Tests and as many T20 matches series is also in doldrums because the UK remains one of the most severely affected countries in the world due to the pandemic. A meeting between the PCB and ECB officials is planned for Friday on a video link to discuss the hurdles in touring England and to find the solutions. A decision about the series, however, will be taken in mid-June.

PCB’s Chief Executive Wasim Khan said: “It is sad that due to the current Covid-19 pandemic, we have to postpone our tour to Ireland. We were looking forward to returning to the venue, where we featured against Ireland in their inaugural Test in 2018, and country where our players have always been supported and admired by the friendly and knowledgeable fans.

“We fully respect and endorse CI’s decision at this difficult time. As we have all reiterated, the safety and security of players, officials and fans comes first. It remains a challenging time for all nations that are due to be hosting home series in the coming months; we as a cricketing family will continue to rally and work closely together.

Cricket Ireland Chief Executive Warren Deutrom said: “With the Irish Government announcement on 1 May regarding the gradual process of lifting restrictions here in Ireland, it unfortunately became impossible to host the Pakistan T20Is in Dublin on the scheduled dates.

“We subsequently discussed scenarios around delaying the fixtures — or even playing them elsewhere — but with numerous complications around Government roadmap timelines, bio-security, quarantining, and scheduling harmony, it just hasn’t been possible to find a way to get the matches played.”

AFP adds: New Zealand’s tour of Europe has been postponed as well.

The World Cup runners-up were due to arrive in June and play a eight limited-overs fixtures, with 20-over and 50-over matches against Scotland in Edinburgh, a T20 against the Netherlands in Rotterdam, as well as five games against Ireland in Bready and Belfast.

Published in Dawn, May 15th, 2020