T20 World Cup is set to be delayed: Report

News coming in thick and fast about the return of top quality Cricket is just the kind of an antidote that is needed to cure the stress and frustration caused by the lockdown situation. We have been hearing multiple reports about the various cricketing events that would take place in the near future if the Corona Virus pandemic continues to subside across the world.

T20 World Cup set to be ‘delayed’!

A couple of days back there was a report from a BCCI official that read that there will be close to 4000 crores rupees revenue loss if IPL doesn’t happen. So taking note of this and the complications involved in hosting a world cup, the board members of ICC are expected to take a decision to ‘delay’ the upcoming WT20 scheduled to be held in Australia during October.

The other interesting development regarding the situation is the possibility of IPL happening during the same window where WT20 was planned. BCCI chief executive Rahul Johri said

Cricket activity in earnest can start practically only after the monsoon season. That is a window. Hopefully, things will improve and give us more variables which we can control and accordingly take the decision

They are also set to have UAE as a backup plan incase there are traveling restrictions in India.

World T20 delayed to 2021 or 2022?

When the ICC board meeting takes place on May 28th there will be various things to discuss for the members. How much of a ‘delay’ is set to be in place for the upcoming World T20 is one of the main objectives for the meeting.

“We are expecting three options from the ICC Events Committee. First option is having World T20 as per schedule with 14-day quarantine with crowd being allowed. The back-up for this option could be tournament in-front of empty stadium. The third option could be shifting the tournament to 2022,” a Board member told PTI.

It can’t be postponed by a few months, say February-March, 2021. It’s not a great idea as Women’s ODI World Cup is scheduled and the two ICC events should not clash.

“CA wouldn’t be too unhappy if the World T20 is shifted to 2022. At the end of the day, ICC is made up of members. If members decide that bilateral series are more important, you can’t discount that.Also ICC might find its cash flow being hampered but it’s a short-term problem. If the tournament happens in 2022, the parent body doesn’t lose anything because it’s deferment not postponement,” the board member concluded.