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Australia's tour of Bangladesh postponed due to coronavirus

FILE PHOTO: Australia's Tim Paine celebrates with the Ashes urn in 2019

SYDNEY (Reuters) - Australia's proposed test tour of Bangladesh in June has been officially postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic and both boards will now work together to find new dates to reschedule the series in the future.

Australia test captain Tim Paine recently said that it would not take "Einstein" to conclude that Australia's test series against Bangladesh would not take place.

With international travel suspended in most countries to contain the spread of the flu-like virus, the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) and Cricket Australia decided it was impossible for the tour to go ahead.

The two tests in Chattogram and Dhaka between June 11-23 were part of the International Cricket Council's newly launched World Test Championship.

"Postponing the tour is regrettable, but I would like to thank the Bangladesh Cricket Board for the open, honest and responsible discussions that led us to this mutually-agreed position," CA Chief Executive Kevin Roberts said.

"As we know, the global cricket calendar is very busy but we will do everything we can to honour our commitment to Bangladesh and will continue to work with the BCB on an agreed date."

(Reporting by Sudipto Ganguly in Mumbai; editing by Christian Radnedge)