India call off tour of Zimbabwe citing 'fatigue': reports
The tour was uncertain to go on due to BCCI's issues with broadcaster Ten Sports
Mumbai/Harare: The Board of Control for Cricket in India on Monday decided to call off the upcoming tour of Zimbabwe.
According to reports, the Indian cricket board cited ‘fatigue’ as the reason to not to go ahead with the tour which was scheduled to start in July. India were scheduled to play three ODIs and two T20 Internationals in Zimbabwe from July 10.
Read: India to leave for tour of Zimbabwe on July 7
As reported on Sunday, a cloud of uncertainty was prevailing over the tour with the country's cricket Board saying that the series could be postponed to next year if the ongoing issues between the BCCI and broadcaster Ten Sports are not resolved on time.
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Zimbabwe Cricket (ZC) said in a press release that it was hopeful of going ahead with India's tour of the country next month and it was in constant contact with both the BCCI and Ten Sports to resolve the issues before the series.
"There have been reports that an issue over Zimbabwe Cricket's broadcasting partner is threatening the forthcoming India tour to Zimbabwe. The position is that ZC is in constant contact with both the BCCI and Ten Sports, over issues which should be resolved before the tour," the ZC release said.
"If the matters take too long to resolve, ZC and the BCCI might mutually agree to push the tour to next year," ZC chairman Wilson Manase said in the release.
Read: India-Zimbabwe series in trouble?
ZC said Manase and CEO Wilfred Mukondiwa will discuss these issues with their BCCI counterparts on the sidelines of the ICC Annual Conference, which will be held in Bridgetown, Barbados, from June 22 to 26.
The release also said that ZC was yet to approach the local immigration authorities for the facilitation of visas because the memorandum of understanding of the tour was still being worked out between the two Boards.
"Cricket is a national sport and ZC enjoys a cordial relationship with all relevant government offices so the acquisition of visas is not an issue. The substantive issues are what we will discuss in Barbados," Manase had said.