The International Cricket Council on Wednesday confirmed that it is still assessing the situation with regard to the T20 World Cup in Australia in October.
The board met to discuss whether or not to postpone the competition given the mounting pressure of the Covid-19 pandemic and the ICC’s desire to return to the fields as soon as possible.
They will, however, continue to explore contingency plans regarding the future of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2020 and the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup 2021 before making a decision next month.
Australia recently began the gradual easing of its nationwide lockdown and started negotiating with Cricket Australia and the ICC in the hope of staging a safe World Cup in good time.
Following the meeting, ICC chief executive Manu Sawhney said: ‘The situation surrounding the global pandemic is evolving rapidly and we want to give ourselves the best possible opportunity to make the right decision for the whole sport. The health and well-being of everyone involved is our priority and other considerations fall out from that.
‘We will only get one chance to make this decision and it needs to be the right one and as such we will continue to consult with our members, broadcasters, partners, governments and players and to ensure that we make a well-informed decision.’
Should the event be postponed to next year it will open the door for the IPL to take place after it was postponed ‘until further notice’ in April. It will also create a new period for alternative international tours with a possible England tour to South Africa in December in the frame, which will consist of three ODIs and three T20Is.
This year’s T20 World Cup will be the seventh instalment of the event and was originally scheduled to start on 16 October, with the West Indies hoping to defend their crown.
