Published 17:55 IST, April 23rd 2020
New Zealand cricket chief confirms T20 World Cup decision to be taken after July: Report
In wake of the coronavirus pandemic, New Zealand Cricket chief David White stated that Australia will try its level best to host the T20 World Cup on time.
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The ongoing coronavirus pandemic has forced the International Cricket Council (ICC) and other governing bodies to halt worldwide cricketing activities. With the T20 World Cup slated to be played in Australia between October-November this year, much remains uncertain as the threat of coronavirus continues to loom on. Amid the crisis, New Zealand Cricket's CEO David White recently said that any decision regarding the fate of the T20 World Cup will not be made until July, i.e. approximately three months prior to the proposed launch date.
New Zealand Cricket head discusses the fate of T20 World Cup
While speaking with the reporters, the New Zealand Cricket chief said that Cricket Australia is working closely with the Australian government and are planning to host the T20 World Cup as per schedule. They are discussing about travel restrictions, border controls and any contingency plans, which would help in containing the contagious coronavirus outbreak, should the T20 World Cup proceed in October and November. While Cricket Australia CEO Kevin Roberts has expressed his hopes of organising the T20 World Cup on time, one of the options currently under consideration is to postpone the showpiece event to February 2021. Incidentally, New Zealand are scheduled to host ICC Women’s World Cup during the same period and White recently said that rescheduling the women’s event is “not on the agenda” at the moment.
Apart from discussing the fate of T20 World Cup, David White also confirmed that New Zealand’s tour of Netherlands for a T20I in June has been called off. He added that New Zealand cricket team’s subsequent tours to England and the West Indies are also “highly doubtful”.
Harsha Bhogle on T20 World Cup and IPL 2020
Meanwhile, Harsha Bhogle recently took to Twitter and gave his prediction on the T20 World Cup and the highly-anticipated Indian Premier League 2020 (IPL 2020) season. In his tweet, Harsha Bhogle wrote that rescheduling of the T20 World Cup will give BCCI a window to stage the IPL 2020. The IPL 2020 was initially slated to be played between March 29 and May 24 before getting suspended by BCCI until further notice.
The key is what happens with the T20 World Cup. If that can't be played in October in Australia, it opens a window for the IPL which is a source of revenue for a national federation at the expense of an ICC event. If India is ready for cricket, there will be pressure to switch
— Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) April 21, 2020
Also Read | IPL 2020 Would Be Preferred By ICC Over T20 World Cup, Asia Cup: Ex-Pak Batsman Basit Ali
17:55 IST, April 23rd 2020