The ICC T2O World Cup which is scheduled to take place later this year in Australia is almost certain to be postponed due to the worldwide crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and also because the international governing body has been unable to make a decision on the fate of the tournament.
According to a report in the Sydney Morning Herald, the all-powerful Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has also become “frustrated” at “ICC’s indecision”. It has left the Indian board without a plan for its next calendar year which is likely to include the 13th edition of the Indian Premier League during the same time as the T20 World Cup was supposed to take place.
The last ICC Board meeting in June had kept the fate of this year’s T20 World Cup hanging as they dragged the matter until the next meeting in July.
“The International Cricket Council (ICC) Board today agreed to continue exploring a number of contingency plans regarding the future of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2020 and the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup 2021 until next month whilst planning for delivery of the events in the scheduled window is ongoing,” the ICC said in a press release after the Board meeting.
Meanwhile, Cricket Australia (CA) chairman Earl Eddings had last month called staging the ICC T20 World Cup – dated to be held from October 18 to November 15 would be “unrealistic” and “very very difficult” amid the global pandemic.
“While it hasn’t been formally called off this year, or postponed, trying to get sixteen countries into Australia in the current world, where most countries are still going through COVID spiking, I think it is unrealistic, or it’s going to be very, very difficult,” said Eddings on Tuesday in a virtual press conference.
Amid these growing speculations, Indian media on various occasions has claimed that BCCI was looking at the possibility to host the 2020’s edition of the IPL from September 25 to November 1, considering that the T20 World Cup would be postponed.