Cricket Australia confirmed on Friday (September 25) the postponement of upcoming home summer's standalone Test against Afghanistan as well as the ODI series versus New Zealand due to scheduling complexities borne out of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

While the Afghans were due to arrive in late November for a historic maiden outing with the Aussies in Perth, the Kiwis were to fly across the Tasman sea for three ICC Super League fixtures in January 2021.

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“Cricket Australia looks forward to working with our good friends at the Afghanistan Cricket Board and New Zealand Cricket to deliver the matches at a time when, hopefully, the restrictions brought on by the COVID19 pandemic have eased,” CA’s interim chief executive officer Nick Hockley was quoted as saying by cricket.com.au.

The scheduling rejig amid COVID-19 pandemic sees the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2020, which had replaced the originally slotted T20 World Cup, finish as late as November 10. 

Players from both Australia and Afghanistan, currently part of the IPL in UAE, wouldn't have had enough time to train for the Test match, considering the necessary two-week quarantine period upon arrival down under. 

"We all worked incredibly hard to make the series happen this summer, but the challenges around international travel and quarantine restrictions ultimately convinced all parties that the series would need to be played at a later date," said Hockley. 

However, India's full tour will go ahead on time. Virat Kohli & company will visit with the intent to try and retain the Border-Gavaskar Trophy on a trip where they'll also play some limited-overs matches.

“CA looks forward to welcoming the Indian men’s team for a full schedule of matches this summer in what promises to be an incredible contest across all three formats," Hockley said. 

(Inputs from PTI)