Visa issues postpone SLC U-19 tour to West Indies

By Madushka Balasuriya 

Sri Lanka Cricket has postponed the Under 19 team’s tour to West Indies, which was due to start next week, after several players were refused US visas, Daily FT has learned. The team were due to take part in a tri-series involving the West Indies and England from 6-21 December, and had been set to depart on 29 November.

An official SLC release cited “unavoidable circumstances” as reason for the postponement, but SLC President Shammi Silva confirmed that seven players had been denied visas and as such the board saw little reason in going ahead with the tour.

“There’s really no point in going without our best players,” said Silva.

United States visas are mandatory when traveling to the West Indies from Sri Lanka, as the team will be transiting through the US. Most recently Sri Lanka’s Women’s team toured the West Indies without any issues.

“The players only need visas to transit, so I don’t really understand why it hasn’t been given, because SLC have also given assurances. This has never happened before,” added Silva.

Silva however did confirm that the board had reapplied for the visas, and are hopeful that the tour might still go ahead.