Former India cricketer Gautam Gambhir has urged all the stakeholders to work together and make sure that the ICC T20 World Cup, due to be played later this year in Australia, takes place as scheduled.
Gambhir’s comment has come amid speculations that the tournament is likely to be postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The T20 World Cup, scheduled to be held from October 18 to November 15, is facing a serious threat because the Australian government has banned the entry of all kinds of foreigners till at least September 30.
However, Gambhir believes that if the International Cricket Council (ICC) is able to take all the participating cricket nations on board, the tournament might take place as per schedule in October-November in Australia.
“It depends on BCCI, ICC and the other boards, what they believe in. They have to get all the various stakeholders involved, including all cricketing nations and they have to come together and decide,” Gambhir said as quoted by IANS.
“All the cricketing nations if they come together on board then the T20 World Cup will go ahead, otherwise I don’t see it happening,” he added.
Meanwhile, rumours are rife that the multi-nation event is all set to be postponed and that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) would implement the time frame to host the 13th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL).
The ICC board will hold a video conference meeting with all the stakeholders on May 28 and a final call on the fate of the T20 World Cup could be taken. However, the ICC Cricket Committee, led by Anil Kumble, will hold talks about the tournament before the board meeting.
The IPL 2020, which was scheduled to be played from March 29 was earlier postponed to April 15 before it was suspended due to the crisis caused by the novel coronavirus till further notice.