Australian organizers have asserted that the postponement of the men’s T20 World Cup was “absolutely inevitable” due to the increasing cases of the coronavirus pandemic. After months of uncertainty, Cricket Australia (CA) welcomed the International Cricket Council’s (ICC) decision, saying it provided clarity ahead of an upcoming home season which includes a blockbuster Test series against India.
Delaying the T20 World Cup also frees up an October-November window in this year’s cricketing calendar which in all possibilities will be used by the BCCI to host the Indian Premier League (IPL), which is expected to take place in the United Arab Emirates.
Talking about the same, CA acting chief executive Nick Hockley said there was no possible way for Australia to host a 16-nation event with the pandemic still raging. Talking to the reporters, Hockley said, “I think the decision to postpone was absolutely inevitable. It allows us to focus on real clarity on the summer ahead.”
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Under the new arrangements announced on Monday, either Australia or India will be hosting the 2021 edition of the T20 World Cup in October-November 2021, then the other nation will hold it in 2022. The 50-over World Cup in India, originally scheduled to take place in March-April 2023, has also been postponed to October-November of that year, with the final on November 26.
Hockley said CA did not have a preference for hosting the T20 tournament in 2021 or 2022. However, ICC chief executive Manu Sawhney said the postponement of the 2023 World Cup has been done avoiding a fixture pile-up, which would have seen two major tournaments played within a few months of each other.
Sawhney had said, “It now just gives you a very clear gap between the various things, plus it helps us also make sure that we can plan the events… ensuring the health and safety for all the people concerned.”
Hockley asserted that the decision to allocate hosting duties between India and Australia in 2021 and 2022 would be made on improving conditions in both the countries in the post-pandemic era.
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Cricket Australia chief explained, “It goes back to safety and working with the latest and best available information,” he said. “It comes down to risk and giving ourselves as much certainty as possible.”
