UAE suspends all cricketing activities till March 31 amidst COVID 19 outbreak

The Emirates Cricket Board (ECB) called off all ongoing and scheduled cricket activities in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) until March 31 in the wake of widespread COVID 19 outbreak. The action came as a precautionary measure as the number of positive cases in the country rise to 98 although no one death has been reported so far.

“Cessation of all cricket activities at councils/clubs/academies/teams for all age groups with immediate effect until 31st March 20220,” the ECB said in a statement.

The board further said that resuming of the cricket-related activities “will be considered only following any update from the higher government authorities”.

The rapid spread of the disease, which has taken more than 6500 lives so far, has led to sports around the world come to a standstill. Australia’s ODI series against New Zealand was called off, as was India’s ODI series against South Africa. England also postponed their two-match Test series in Sri Lanka while the upcoming edition of the IPL, which was due to start on March 29, has also been suspended till April 15.

In the meantime, BCCI has suspended all domestic games till further notice while CA called off the final round of the Sheffield Shield which was scheduled from March 17. The CWI has also joined the cricketing fraternity and called off all cricket activities in the Caribbean.