Don’t have to be Einstein to know Bangladesh tour is unlikely amid COVID-19, admits Tim Paine
Australian Test captain Tim Paine has admitted that the two-match Test tour of Bangladesh, scheduled for June, will most likely be postponed indefinitely due to COVID-19. A 2-0 win against Bangladesh would’ve taken the Aussies above India in the maiden World Test Championship (WTC) points table.
Only international limited-overs series have been cancelled or postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic so far. But the overall shutdown of all sporting activities across the globe has put all upcoming Test campaigns also into uncertainty. Neither Cricket Australia (CA) nor the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) is yet to make an official announcement about the series from June 11th onwards. But Paine and Co. are well aware that an indefinite postponement or a calling-off is ultimately on the cards.
"I think all players would be in favour of trying to finish that any way we can (but) if it doesn't happen, there are bigger issues in the world and missing a few Test matches isn't going to hurt us. You don't have to be Einstein to realise (the Bangladesh tour) is probably unlikely to go ahead, particularly in June. Whether it's cancelled or pushed back, we're not quite sure at the moment," Paine said, reported cricket.com.au.
Looking at the bigger picture of the ICC Test Championship title, however, it seems that the Aussies may stand to lose a golden chance to gain ground on leaders India. Had Paine's side managed a 2-0 win over Bangladesh, it would see the second-placed Aussies (currently on 296 points) take all 120 points on offer and overtake India, who are on 360 points. Such a scenario would make the four-match Border-Gavaskar series in Australia this coming summer even spicier.
This, of course, will not be the case if the ICC finds room on the calendar to rearrange the series before the WTC final in June 2021.
"I hope they don't push it back too far for my sake, that's for sure. Some series have been cancelled and whether ones going forward are going to be continually cancelled or we're going to postpone them (is uncertain). Maybe the players are going to have to go through a period where we play quite a bit of cricket if we want to complete the Test Championship as it is," Paine added.
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