England likely to tour Sri Lanka despite COVID-19 concerns

England's two-Test tour of Sri Lanka next month is likely to go ahead despite concerns about a highly infectious new coronavirus variant identified in Britain, according to a media report.

Sri Lanka is among the countries which have banned commercial flights from Britain but Joe Root and his team mates are set to arrive by chartered flight to play the matches in Galle from January 14, the ESPNCricinfo website said.

"Yes, anxiety is high at this stage from everybody. But when you look at the scientific evidence, I don't think we should stop it," Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) physician Daminda Attanayake was quoted as saying by the website.

"We might have to take extra precautions, but we don't need to stop the tour," he added.

Both the boards were scheduled to discuss the development in a meeting on Tuesday.

England are scheduled to leave for Sri Lanka on January 2 and quarantine for three days in Hambantota before heading to Galle for the matches to be played behind closed doors.

Part of the World Test Championship, the series was originally scheduled in March but had to be postponed following the COVID-19 pandemic.