25 April,2020 09:59 AM IST | Mumbai | Harit N Joshi
India players celebrate the wicket of New Zealand opener Martin Guptill during the first Twenty20 International at Auckland on Friday. Pic/PTI
The ICC T20 World Cup (Oct 18 to Nov 15 in Australia) is under threat of getting postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
mid-day has learnt that the ICC, along with Cricket Australia (CA), is exploring a possible date in December to host the mega event. It is also good news for the BCCI, which is keen to hold the IPL in Oct-Nov as no international cricket is planned.
Australia has banned international travellers for six months, which is likely to end mid-September.
However, it remains to be seen what quarantine guidelines the Australian government will issue.
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If the outbreak causes havoc again, it will be a monumental task to quarantine 15 national teams (apart from hosts Australia), scores of fans and other support staff who will converge Down Under.
As of now, it is understood that efforts are on to hold the T20 World Cup this year itself as India is set to host another T20 World Cup next year. In such a scenario, India's much-awaited tour to Australia in December is likely to take a hit.
Australia might have to take a tricky call. Hosting the T20 World Cup will mean the bulk of revenue will be shared with ICC. But if they manage to host India, which they eagerly want to, the entire revenue will directly go into CA coffers.
Meanwhile, mid-day has learnt that some franchises have sounded out their players about a possible IPL in October-November if the T20 World Cup is postponed.
The BCCI has already charted out contingency plans of holding the IPL in different scenarios - 30 playing days, restricted venues and behind closed doors.
"IPL is an important tournament not just for the BCCI but also for other boards. They make money just by releasing their players. In times when the resumption of bilateral cricket is under a cloud, IPL provides a silver lining for cricket to get back on track," said a source.
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