Australian cricketer Alyssa Healy and start of the 2020 T20 World Cup expressed disappointment at the cancellation of the Indian team’s proposed tour of England for a women’s tri-series due to logistical issues.
India was originally slated to play a bilateral series comprising three ODIs and as many T20Is against England in June which got postponed due to the coronavirus outbreak. But the tour was called off earlier this week by the Indian board citing issues around travel restrictions and the assembling of training camps amid the coronavirus crisis.
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The England and Wales Cricket Board has said it was in talks with their Indian and South African counterparts to host a tri-series in September, which will now only be bilateral series against the Proteas, who will start training.
As Healy said, the tour was significant ICC Women’s World Cup is scheduled to be played in New Zealand from February 6 to March 7 next year. A challenging tour of England would have helped immensely in the Indian team’s preparations for the World Cup, reckoned a few from the cricket community after the cancellation.
This is a sentiment shared by many cricket fans on Twitter, who said that the cancellation of India’s tour will set women’s cricket back in the country. India had finished as runners-up at the T20 World Cup in March, the last big tournament before cricket activities were suspended. The worry is that the momentum created by that record campaign in Australia will be lost in India.
With PTI Inputs
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