Joe Root confirms England to replace handshakes with fist bumps on tour of Sri Lanka over coronavirus fears

Joe Root says England are taking all precautions to protect themselves against coronavirus after the touring party suffered bouts of illness during their most recent tour of South Africa. AFP

England cricket captain Joe Root says his players will not shake hands with the opposition on their tour of Sri Lanka and will instead use fist bumps  to greet each other following the coronavirus outbreak.

The coronavirus outbreak that has killed over 3,000 people and infected more than 89,000 globally.

England will play the first of their two practice matches from Saturday before the first Test in Galle from March 19 while Colombo hosts the second Test from March 27.

Root said England were particularly cautious after several players and members of staff were struck down by flu and gastroenteritis on their most recent tour to South Africa earlier this year.

"We are well aware of the importance of keeping contact to a minimum," Root told reporters on Monday night.

"We've been given some really sound and sensible advice from our medical team to help prevent spreading germs and bacteria.

"We are not shaking hands with each other – using instead the well-established fist bump – and we are washing hands regularly and wiping down surfaces using the antibacterial wipes and gels we've been given in our immunity packs."

Sri Lanka confirmed the first case of coronavirus in the country in January but Root expected the tour to go on as planned.

"There is no suggestion that the tour will be affected. But, of course, it is an evolving situation so we are in regular contact with the authorities and will proceed as advised," he added.

Cricket has been largely unaffected by the coronavirus outbreak despite the cancellation or postponement of several other sports including football, golf, rugby and tennis.

The MotoGP season has been hit with the first two rounds of the 2020 calendar postponed while organisers of the Australian and Bahrain grands prix - the two opening rounds of the 2020 Formula One season - have said the races will go ahead as scheduled later this month.