T20 World Cup Under 'Very High Risk' of Being Postponed: Cricket Australia

Cricket, like other sports, has come to a grinding halt with the world struggling with the ongoing coronavirus crisis.

Cricket Australia (CA) CEO Kevin Roberts has warned that the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup scheduled to be held later this year is at a ‘very high risk’ of being postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic. Also Read - COVID-19: Over 7,400 Cases Reported in Last 24 Hours, Biggest Single-Day Spike so Far; Total Tally Crosses 1.65 Lakh | Key Points

Cricket, like other sports, has come to a grinding halt with the world struggling with the ongoing health crisis. With travels restrictions across the globe, the chances of the marquee event going ahead as per original schedule seem bleak. Also Read - Lockdown in Gurugram: 18 More Areas Added to Containment Zones - Full List Here

“Obviously, we’ve been hopeful all along that it could be staged in October-November but you would have to say there is a very high risk about the prospect of that happening,” Roberts told reporters on Friday. “In the event that doesn’t happen, there are potential windows in the February-March period, October-November the following year.” Also Read - Karnataka Gram Panchayat Elections 2020 Deferred Due to COVID-19

“And there are implications here for the ICC over a number of years. So there’s a lot of complexity for the ICC to deal with,” he added.

However, if the T20 World Cup does get rescheduled, that would open up a potential window for BCCI to organise the IPL which as of now has been postponed indefinitely.

In the event of IPL being held in the October-November window, it will clash with Australia’s home season the schedule of which was released on Thursday. During that period, they are to host West Indies, India for bilateral T20I series.

“The question of the IPL will be addressed when a decision is made around the T20 World Cup, that’s the key influencing factor there,” Roberts said.

He though warned that the financial losses CA is expected to incur due to the absence of international cricket will result in extensive job cuts at the organisation.

“We’ve made a commitment to significantly reduce the cost base of Cricket Australia. Unfortunately, that means that no area of the organisation will be untouched,” Roberts said.

“It’s premature to talk about the details of those plans. That will come in the not-too-distant future. We are really focused on the activities that will drive positive cash flow for Australian cricket given the importance of CA generating revenue to support states and territories.

“We’re also focused on maintaining as much investment as possible in community cricket as a critical strategic priority for us. But no area of the organisation will be untouched.”

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