ICC postpones T20 WC, paves way for BCCI to organise IPL 2020 in Sep-Nov

With India's case load also exceeding the 1 million mark, including more than 26,000 deaths, the IPL 2020 is likely to move to the UAE once the central government gives its go ahead

The International Cricket Council (ICC) on Monday postponed the Men’s T20 World Cup 2020, scheduled to take place in Australia from October 18 to November 11, in view of the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic. The decision was taken at the ICC’s board meeting, held via teleconference. 
 

The global T20 event was scheduled to take place from October 18 to November 15 in Australia, but the country's cricket board had in May expressed its inability to host the tournament amid a second surge of Covid-19 cases in the state of Victoria.

"The International Cricket Council (ICC) today confirmed the ICC Men's T20 World Cup in Australia 2020 has been postponed due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic," the ICC said in a statement.

In addition to this, the 2023 50-over World Cup in India was pushed from March-April to the November window to give more time for the qualification process.

"At today's meeting of the IBC Board (the commercial subsidiary of the ICC), windows for the next three ICC men's events were also agreed to bring clarity to the calendar and give the sport the best possible opportunity over the next three years to recover from the disruption caused by Covid-19.

The windows for the Men's events are:

ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2021 will be held October - November 2021 with the final on 14 November 2021;

ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2022 will be held October - November 2022 with the final on 13 November 2022;

ICC Men's Cricket World Cup 2023 will be held in India October - November 2023 with the final on 26 November 2023.

The postponement of the T20 World Cup, meanwhile, has paved the way for the Board of Contrl for Cricket in India (BCCI) to organise the 13th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL 2020) in the September-October window.
 

BCCI may announce IPL 2020 new dates soon

With India's tally of coronavirus cases going past the the 1-million mark, and death toll exceeding 27,000, the IPL 2020, if held after the central government’s approval, would likely move to the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

"The first step was postponement of Asia Cup, which has happened. We can only start to move ahead with our plans after the ICC announces the postponement. They have been sitting on the decision even after Cricket Australia has said it is not too keen on hosting the event," news reports quoted a BCCI apex council member as saying.

According to various media reports, BCCI will organise the IPL 2020 from September 24 to November 7. However, broadcaster Star Sports wants the IPL to conclude by the Diwali weekend, a week later, the Times of India newspaper has reported. But that does not seem possible, given India’s tour of Australia, which is starting on December 3, with quarantine and bio-secure protocols in place.

IPL team owners’ preparations are on

The IPL franchises, meanwhile, are already busy preparing to play the league in the UAE this year. A franchise official said preparations had already started for logistics and zeroing in on the hotel where the team would stay in Abu Dhabi. Deliberations were also on over how exactly they would train and prepare for IPL 2020, news agency IANS reported.

Another official of a former champion franchise was reported to have said that the team was looking to get an isolation period done in India before heading off to the UAE. "We are looking at having the boys come together in India, go through a period of spending time in a bio-secure environment, and then get our tests done and head to the UAE.

"The reason is that we are all staying at home. So, if one of us is asymptomatic, we have the risk of infecting others. That is why it is better to go through a couple of weeks of isolation and testing here in the country before heading out," the official explained.