NEW DELHI: India A’s tour of England, which was scheduled for this summer, has been postponed due to the COVID-19 restrictions, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) said on Tuesday. India A were scheduled to face England Lions as well as play warm up games against their own national side, who are set to go head to head with England in a five-test series across August and September. Instead, Virat Kohli’s men will now travel with a larger squad and prepare for the test series with two intra-squad four-day matches. The ECB said the decision to tweak the calendar was made to deliver “the safest possible environment” for the international matches scheduled over the English summer.
“We look forward to welcoming a men’s India A tour at a later date after this summer and when restrictions have eased,” ECB chief executive officer Tom Harrison said in a statement. The ECB have also held talks with cricket boards of the other three visiting teams this summer — New Zealand, Sri Lanka and Pakistan — and agreed to cancel their tour matches against English county teams. All three visiting teams will also play intra-squad matches to prepare for the internationals against England this summer.