After months of deliberation over the conduction of the Men’s T20 World Cup in October 2020 in Australia, the board of directors of the International Cricket Council (ICC) have officially declared the postponement of the tournament to next year due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
The ICC board of directors have also reportedly confirmed the following –
1) Men’s T20 World Cup 2021 will be held October-November, with the final on November 14.
2) Men’s T20 World Cup 2022 will be held October-November with the final on November 13.
3) Men’s (50-over) World Cup will be held in India in October-November 2023 with the final on November 26.
“We have undertaken a comprehensive and complex contingency planning exercise and through this process, our number one priority has been to protect the health and safety of everyone involved in the sport. The decision to postpone the T20 World Cup was taken after careful consideration of all of the options available to us and gives us the best possible opportunity of delivering two safe and successful T20 World Cups for fans around the world,” ICC CEO Manu Sawhney stated, according to reports.
Sawhney further added, “Our Members now have the clarity they need around event windows to enable them to reschedule lost bilateral and domestic cricket. Moving the Men’s Cricket World Cup to a later window is a critical element of this and gives us a better chance of maintaining the integrity of the qualification process. This additional time will be used to reschedule games that might be lost because of the pandemic ensuring qualification can be decided on the field of play. Throughout this process we have worked closely with our key stakeholders including governments, Members, broadcasters, partners and medical experts to enable us to reach a collective decision for the good of the game and our fans. I would like to thank everyone involved for their commitment to a safe return to cricket.”
The postponement of the ICC T20 World Cup 2020 has now opened up a window for the 13th edition of the Indian Premier League that was scheduled to begin on April 15 and later suspended due to the pandemic. It was reported that the BCCI recently zeroed in on UAE to host IPL 2020 following the BCCI Apex Council meeting which was held via teleconference on Friday, but an official confirmation on the exact date and venue is awaited.
