Coronavirus: New Zealand team to be quarantined after return from Australia, on PM's order

New Zealand cricketers have returned back to their country from Australia after their bilateral limited-overs tour Down Under was cut short due to the outbreak of COVID-19 (Coronavirus) that has spread its tentacles all over the world. The Kiwis were in Australia for a three-match One Day International series followed by a three-match T20Is. Meanwhile, the limited-overs series has been postponed.

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New Zealand cricketers to go in Quarantine

It has been learned that the Black Caps players will be going into self-isolation. As per reports, New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern had advised all returning travelers to self-isolate for two weeks amid the COVID-19 outbreak, even if they arrived in the country before Sunday night’s cut-off.

At the same time, New Zealand Cricket (NZC) public affairs manager, Richard Boock has gone on to say that the New Zealand players, as well as the touring staff, have all gone into self-isolation and that they have passed on all the details about what self-isolation means. Boock also mentioned that as per the cricket board's knowledge, the players are also following it strictly. 

Many global sporting events have been canceled or postponed due to the outbreak of the infectious COVID-19. India-South Africa ODI series have been rescheduled at a further date while the English players who were in Sri Lanka for a two-match Test series have gone back home. The Pakistan Super League (PSL) 2020 semi-final matches have been postponed while the 13th edition of the IPL which was supposed to get underway on March 29 has been postponed to April 15.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) President Sourav Ganguly had last week said that the IPL will take place but there is also a possibility of it being a truncated one. Ganguly also said that a weekly reassessment will be done on the same. Coming back to BCCI, its Mumbai office has been shut down with effect from Tuesday and all the employees have been asked to work from home. 

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