Amid speculations that the ICC T20 World Cup, scheduled to be played in Australia later this year, will get postponed and the Board of Control for Cricket (BCCI) in India will use the window to host the 13th edition of the Indian Premier League, an official of the Indian board has hinted that the speculations may turn into a reality.
Like major sporting events across the globe, all forms of professional cricket have come to standstill and a dark cloud of uncertainty looms over the fate of the T20 World Cup as well.
The tournament, scheduled to be held from October 18 to November 15 at the Down Under, is facing a serious threat also because the Australian government has banned the entry of all kinds of foreigners till at least September 30.
The IPL 2020, which was scheduled to be played from March 29 this year, was earlier postponed to April 15 before it was suspended due to the crisis caused by the novel coronavirus till further notice.
But, according to a report by news agency IANS on Wednesday, a BCCI official has said that if the Indian government allows them they will “absolutely” have the IPL in October-November later this year.
“It all depends on the circumstances. If the situation improves as it is and if the government does give the go-ahead then absolutely we will have the IPL. Every player you speak to has been telling you that they are keen to be a part of the league and how they cannot wait for the tournament to happen. The feeling is same in the board as well. But the decision of the government is final and only after they say that the situation is right for a sporting event to happen that we will go ahead with the event during the end of September to early November window,” the official said.
His comments have come after news started floating that the ICC may postpone this year’s T20 World Cup and shift the next year’s T20 event from India to Australia with India hosting another edition in 2022. But the BCCI official denied that speculations as well and cleared that the BCCI was in no mood to release their 2021 T20 World Cup hosting rights.
“It is expected that we will get a clear picture in this meeting. You cannot keep delaying things when it is a showpiece event and involves so many teams and such logistical arrangements. As for one of the ideas that BCCI may hand the hosting rights of the 2021 edition to CA and us hosting the 2022 edition of the T20 World Cup, I honestly don’t see that happening. If the T20 World Cup doesn’t happen in Australia in 2020 then it will in 2022 is what we feel,” the official explained.