India – South Africa cricket series called off

The two remaining one day internationals (ODIs) between India and South Africa in Lucknow and Kolkata will not be played. The matches were called off due to the Coronavirus scare. This is yet another major sports event affected by the pandemic.

“With the IPL being postponed, it only made sense that at this point of time, this series is also called off. The country is facing a serious pandemic,” said a top official of the Board of Control for Cricket in India. The first ODI between the two sides in Dharamsala was washed out. Both teams had reached Lucknow on Friday.

“The South African team will come to Delhi and leave by taking at the earliest available flight,” said the BCCI.

The matches were earlier planned to be held behind closed doors due to the government directive asking for all sporting events to be closed to fans.

The IPL has also been pushed to 15 April. It was earlier scheduled for 29 March. India has recorded more than 80 positive cases so far with the global infected count standing at over 100,000. The death toll because of the virus has gone beyond 5,000 internationally.