Don’t have to be Einstein to know Bangladesh tour is unlikely amid COVID-19, admits Tim Paine

"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.

"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.