T20 World Cup set to be postponed to make way for IPL

SYDNEY: The writing seems to be on the wall. Despite all their efforts, Australian cricket officials are expected to give up plans to host the ICC Twenty20 World Cup later this year.

Instead, the Indian Premier League (IPL) is set to be slotted during the October-November window as the ICC Board is expected to officially announce the postponement of the October 18-November 15 T20 World Cup.

The Australian cricket team, which started outdoor training, has been told to get ready for a white-ball series against England in September as the ICC T20 World Cup is expected to be postponed this week, according to a media report.

“Cricket’s World Cup is set to be officially postponed this week as Australia’s players are told to start preparing for comeback battle against England,” Australian newspaper The Daily Telegraph reported.

The report also stated that if Cricket Australia decides on allowing its players to play in the IPL, “..the ideal scenario would be they could go straight from the England limited-overs series to wherever the T20 league is held in Middle East or Asia”.

The Australian team is, therefore, now preparing for ODIs and T20 Internationals against England in an away series. The report states that a white-ball tour of England is yet to be officially confirmed but Australia’s pace bowlers are “building up their workloads for a return to play in September and players have been told to start preparing for another date with the Old Enemy.”

Meanwhile, India’s cricket leaders are becoming impatient with the world body’s delays in deciding whether the Twenty20 World Cup will go ahead this year amid the coronavirus pandemic. The World Cup holdup is stopping the Board of Control for Cricket in India from setting a date for its biggest earner, the Indian Premier League.

“Why they (the ICC) are delaying we have no idea,” BCCI treasurer Arun Dhumal told AFP, adding the BCCI was “already planning (the IPL) and we are looking for a window.” “We will see how the situation pans out,” he said. “We will explore options whether we can have it here or overseas.”

The United Arab Emirates and Sri Lankan cricket boards have already shown interest in hosting the T20 tournament that attracts global superstars such as England’s Joe Root, West Indies batsman Chris Gayle and South Africa’s Faf du Plessis.

The IPL has twice been held outside India in years that it clashed with national elections. South Africa hosted the 2009 event and part of it was held in United Arab Emirates in 2014. Dhumal added that the BCCI will look to open domestic tournaments, such as the Ranji trophy, in September to kickstart the game post-pandemic.

Dhumal earlier told AFP the board would suffer losses of more than 500 million dollars if the IPL is scrapped.

Article source: https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/683099-t20-world-cup-set-to-be-postponed-to-make-way-for-ipl