India on Friday called off two remaining one-day internationals against South Africa because of the coronavirus pandemic, the cricket board said.

The first of the three-match series in Dharamsala on Thursday was washed out without a ball being bowled.

The next game was scheduled for Lucknow on Sunday followed by the last one in Kolkata on Wednesday. "Cricket South Africa will visit India at a later date to play three one-day internationals," the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) said in a statement, adding that a revised schedule would be worked out soon.

The games were called off hours after the BCCI postponed the start of the money-spinning Indian Premier League Twenty20 tournament till April 15. The eight-team competition was to begin on March 29.

The BCCI had on Thursday announced that the two matches against South Africa would be played without spectators because of the virus. India, the world's second most populous country after China, has reported 81 cases so far with one death from COVID-19.