London: The International Cricket Council (ICC) might be keeping its fingers crossed when it comes to answering queries on the fate of the T20 World Cup, slated to be held in Australia in October-November, owing to the pandemic, but cricketers don’t seem that confident when it comes to the mega event going ahead as per schedule.
An ICC official kept it short and said no meeting has taken place between the international body and Cricket Australia (CA) over the last week and added contingency planning continues. ‘There has been no meeting (in the last week) and there is no update. Contingency planning continues,’ said the official.
But over the last couple of months, the cricketers have made it quite evident the World T20 might have to be postponed, keeping an eye on the magnitude of the event and also how social distancing norms need to be strictly followed in the near future.
Australia opener David Warner shared his thoughts with Rohit Sharma while interacting in an Instagram live chat last week. He said: ‘The ICC WC will not go ahead here by the looks of it. It will be difficult to get everyone (16 teams) together.’
Australia’s limited overs skipper Aaron Finch too feels the tournament might have to be delayed. ‘We might have to get our heads around a T20 WC that might be postponed for a month, two months, three months, whatever it has to be,’ Finch told SEN Radio.
A few other players have also spoken about the fans and how having a T20 World Cup in front of empty stands wouldn’t be the best way forward. Australia all-rounder Glenn Maxwell feels that crowds are an integral part of the showpiece event.
‘ It is going to be hard for us to have crowds. If the Indian Premier League (IPL) goes ahead, it can probably survive without any crowds, but I can’t see the T20 WC surviving without any people there,’ Maxwell told ABC Grandstand.
Pakistan batsman Imam-ul-Haq also said he would like to have fans around while playing a grand competition. ‘ I personally feel the T20 WC, if it happens, should take place with crowds as its charm is something else for players and everyone involved,’ he pointed.
A BCCI official said opening the games to fans and still being able to maintain social distancing norms could be a major concern for CA. ‘With the condition that everyone is going through at the moment, would the fans want to gather in a stadium? Or would the tickets of only one out of 10 seats be made available to keep a semblance of social distancing norms in places? the official enquired.