The Indian cricket team during their tour to Australia later this year might not have to play at empty stadiums as Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison on Friday said that outdoor sports venues with 40,000 seating capacity would be allowed to fill 25 percent of their stands.
“For outdoor venues up to 40,000 spectator capacity, ticketed and seated events will be able to be held in front of a crowd of no more than 25 per cent of capacity under Step 3,” a statement from the Prime Minister said as per on the official website, pm.gov.au.
“For outdoor venues of more than 40,000 spectator capacity, further advice is being sought from the AHPPC, with arrangements to be settled by the states and territories on a venue by venue basis,” it added.
The announcement was made following a meeting of the National Cabinet. In the meeting, Morrison was joined by Chief Medical Officer (CMO) Brendan Murphy and other state and territory leaders.
Last month, Cricket Australia (CA) had released the schedule of the four-match Test series. The matches would be played at Brisbane Gabba, Adelaide Oval, Melbourne Cricket Ground and the Sydney Cricket Ground.
Gabba would host the opening match from December 3. While the second match in Adelaide from December 11 will be India’s first away Day-Night Test, the ones in Melbourne and Sydney will be the traditional Boxing Day and New Year Tests respectively.
However, the CA had said that it was still keeping the possibility to host the series in one or two venues if the COVID-19 pandemic forces them to do so.
Australia is also supposed to host the ICC T20 World Cup later this year in the months of October and November. But owing to the crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic the fate of the tournament is hanging in doubts.
The International Cricket Council (ICC) in its latest Board meeting on Wednesday decided to wait till at least next month to announce anything on the tournament, which is scheduled to be held in Australia from October 18 to November 15.