Wasim Jaffer believes IPL should be played ahead of ICC T20 World Cup 2020 for this reason

Former Indian cricketer Wasim Jaffer has come forward and said that the IPL 2020 should be played before the ICC T20 World Cup 2020. The 13th edition of the Indian Premier League that was originally scheduled to get underway on March 29 has been suspended indefinitely as of now due to the global pandemic. The showpiece event of T20 cricket is scheduled to be held in October-November as of now in Australia. However, as per reports, the event might get cancelled while there are various reports that stated that should the event get underway, it would be played behind closed doors. An official confirmation regarding the same will be taken by the International Cricket Council (ICC) during their next meeting on June 10.

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'Playing the IPL first will be more logical than the World T20': Jaffer

During an interview with a news channel, Jaffer went on to say that playing the IPL first will be more logical than the World T20 as the IPL will help the players in getting accustomed to conditions and get their game back. He justified by saying that playing a marquee tournament straightaway will only add to the pressure after the break.

The former Test specialist mentioned that the crowds will not be there in the IPL even though the pandemic might have neared its conclusion and therefore, the authorities will have to work on ways to maintain the buzz and make it more realistic. Furthermore, the former Ranji Trophy cricketer opined that maybe a sound-system can be in place as there will be no one in stands.

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ICC Defers Its Decision On World Cup T20 To Its Next Meeting On June 10

ICC on Thursday, June 28 neither postponed nor taken any call on staging or deferring the T20 World Cup to be held in Australia in October this year. Following a long 4 hour meeting, ICC deferred all the listed agenda, including the all-important decision to stage or postpone World Cup T20, to its next Board meeting on June 10. The decision to defer the agenda was taken following a discussion led by Chairman Shashank Manohar with other Board members via teleconference around the issue of confidentiality. According to an ICC release, a number of Board members had raised their concerns over this issue recently and felt it required immediate attention to ensure the sanctity and confidentiality of Board matters in line with the highest standards of governance.

"There was unanimous agreement to immediately initiate an independent investigation led by the ICC’s Ethics Officer and supported by global experts. The Board will be updated on this by the ICC CEO at its next meeting on 10 June 2020. The Board also requested the ICC management continue with their discussions with stakeholders in exploring various contingency options in light of the rapidly changing public health situation caused by the COVID 19 virus."

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