T20 World Cup likely to postponed, new window of possibility opens up for IPL

ICC is heading towards hosting the T20 World Cup in February-March 2021, thereby opening the opportunity to stage the Indian Premier League (IPL) in September-October.

The BCCI has made it clear that Test cricket remains paramount for Indian cricket with regards to the disrupted World Test Championship even as options for a delayed T20 World Cup were discussed during the ICC chief executives’ committee meeting on Thursday.

The outbreak of Coronavirus has brought cricket activities, just like every other sport, to a standstill. The ICC is in process of formulating contingency plans and a future course of action when cricket finally resumes.

The World Test Championship and the inaugural ODI League were the two of the major issues on the agenda during the meeting but organizing the T20 World Cup is the first major task at hand for the ICC and Cricket Australia.

Among the various options proposed during the meeting, majority of the member Boards seemed to be in agreement on three possible options as far as the scheduling of T20 World Cup is concerned.

As many as eight options for the T20 World Cup were on the table during the meeting, which was attended by 12 full ICC members and three associate members. Most of the member Boards seem to have zeroed in on three possible options as far as the scheduling the T20 World Cup is concerned.

“Even though it’s a bit early but three options have been shortlisted. The first is to stick to the original Oct-Nov schedule and the second is to the tournament in Feb-March next year. The third and last option that was zeroed in on is to stage the tournament in 2022,” one of the representatives, who was part of the meeting, told India Today.

“Most likely, they (ICC and member Boards) will move towards hosting the T20 World Cup in Feb-March,” the source added.

The postponement of the T20 World Cup opens up a window for the IPL, which was scheduled to start from March 29 but has been suspended due to the Coronavirus. Once the impact of Coronavirus reduces the possibility of staging the IPL in September-October also improves and the tournament may provide as a preparatory ground for the T20 World Cup.

“As for the World Test Championship, the BCCI has maintained the importance of World Test Championship and it is unlikely that the points will be shared. The Test schedules will be altered with and in all likelihood, the final, which was scheduled in June 2021, will be moved to 2022,” the source added.

No final decision was taken in the meeting and the ICC will continue to review the situation but it’s becoming increasingly clear that the T20 World Cup may be moved to Feb-March 2021.

The members and the ICC also stressed on getting an expert opinion from the ICC Medical Committee on how long the Covid-19 outbreak may take to subside, besides resuming cricket with or without crowds.