Surrey cancels contracts of Shadab Khan, D'Arcy Short due to coronavirus crisis
May 01, 2020
London [UK], May 1 : England cricket county club Surrey on Friday announced that it has cancelled the contracts of two Vitality Blast overseas players - Pakistan's Shadab Khan and Australia's D'Arcy Short.
The Vitality Blast was scheduled to commence on May 28. However, due to the coronavirus pandemic, the England Cricket Board (ECB) had announced that no cricket will be played in the country before July 1, meaning the games will now have to be postponed.
"The ECB's announcement that no cricket will be played in England before July 1 means the Vitality Blast, which was due to begin with a London Derby at The Kia Oval on May 28, has now been postponed," Surrey said in a statement.
"Given the postponement of this competition and the current uncertainty around the makeup of the domestic season, Director of Cricket Alec Stewart spoke with both Shadab and Short separately and it was mutually agreed that the players' contracts would be cancelled," it added.
Stewart thanked both the players for their understanding of the current situation caused by coronavirus pandemic.
"I would like to thank both Shadab and D'Arcy and their management companies for their understanding of the current situation and the impact these testing times are having on our game," Stewart said.
"While we continue to prepare for cricket at The Kia Oval this summer, uncertainties around restrictions and scheduling across the world and here in the UK means this is the most sensible decision for both the players and the Club for now," he added.
