The cricket series between Sri Lanka and Afghanistan, scheduled to take place in the UAE this week, has been abruptly postponed.
The white-ball series between the two teams has now been postponed indefinitely.
A Sri Lanka Cricket official confirmed this and stated that the current situation necessitated this decision.
Middle East Conflict hampers plans
Speaking to AFP, a Sri Lanka Cricket official stated, “We had to cancel because of the flight situation… and the ongoing fighting in the region.”
Indeed, the situation in the Middle East has become quite tense in recent days. The US and Israel attacked Iran on February 28th, after which Iran retaliated with missile and drone attacks.
This tension has also affected flight operations across the region. Flights have been disrupted at several airports, including Dubai. According to reports, Dubai Airport was briefly closed on Saturday after Iran launched missiles and drones at several targets in the Gulf region.
Regarding the series schedule, the two teams were initially scheduled to play three T20I matches. These matches were scheduled to be held in Sharjah on March 13, 15, and 17. This was followed by three ODIs in Dubai on March 20, 22, and 25.
Such a series to be held for the first time
This tour was considered special because for the first time, Afghanistan was going to host Sri Lanka for a “home series.” However, due to the prolonged unsettled situation in Afghanistan, international cricket is not played there.
For this reason, Afghanistan has been holding its home series in India or the United Arab Emirates. This series in the UAE was also scheduled under the same arrangement, but had to be postponed due to current security and travel concerns.
No new dates have been announced yet. The two cricket boards will jointly decide on a new series schedule once the situation returns to normal.
This step has been taken keeping in mind the safety of players and staff.
