Women's World Cup Qualifier: Sri Lanka vs West Indies match called off; COVID-19 fears possible reason

ICC Women’s World Cup Qualifier is currently in progress in Zimbabwe. The tournament was going smoothly before the deadly Omicron variant struck South Africa and doubts began to linger in everyone’s mind. The cricket teams in the southern African countries are worried about this development as well with several countries announcing travel restrictions to six southern African countries, including Zimbabwe.

The latest development on the situation is the game between Sri Lanka and West Indies has been called off. COVID-19 fears is the possible reason according to reports but nothing has been made official yet. Interestingly, the other two matches on the day – Thailand vs USA and Pakistan vs Zimbabwe – went ahead as scheduled. However, the World Cup Qualifier is likely to get postponed as well now.

The Sri Lanka Cricket CEO Ashley de Silva confirmed the news of the match getting cancelled. He also revealed that the International Cricket Council (ICC) is discussing the situation with everyone and the teams are waiting for an update as of now.

“The match has been cancelled, probably due to the Covid situation in the African countries. All the teams are still in Zimbabwe, and the ICC is having internal discussions as to how to move forward. We’ll wait for their direction,” he said while speaking to ESPNCricinfo.

Netherlands tour of South Africa also on hold

South Africa’s home season might well get affected in a big way. The Netherlands are set to take a decision soon over their ongoing ODI series against the home team. The first ODI got washed out on Friday (November 26) and it is not clear yet if the remaining two matches will be played. Moreover, the India A side is already in the rainbow nation and a couple of four-day matches are still left.

India’s senior men’s team is set to leave for South Africa on December 7 or 8. The two teams are scheduled to play three Tests, three ODIs and four T20Is on the tour. As of now, both the boards, BCCI and CSA, are monitoring the situation and if the situation worsens, the tour might get postponed as well.