Sri Lanka has closed its borders to new arrivals from the UK, thwarting the plans of England cricket fans still hoping to visit the country despite the cancellation of their two-Test series.
The first Test was due to get underway on Thursday, 19 March, but was postponed on Friday due to the coronavirus outbreak, with Joe Root’s team already in the country having played a warm-up match.
The squad and staff have since returned home to the UK, but some fans with travel and hotels booked had been planning to press ahead with the holiday anyway.
While some have already made it to the Asian country, including members of the Barmy Army, others will be denied entry after authorities introduced the restrictions, which will come into force from midnight local time on Monday.
On Friday, England captain Root said he was ‘relieved’ that the tour had been called amid the worsening global pandemic.
"You could see looking at the players that their minds were elsewhere thinking about people back home,” he said. “Now that we can go and look after families and be with loved ones that's put a lot of guys at ease.
"Naturally there was a lot of talk in the dressing room and it got to a stage where it overshadowed the cricket. Looking at how quickly things have happened at home, you're thinking about family and friends who might be a bit more vulnerable and that's hard when you're a long way away.”
