Coronavirus: ICC takes another month to mull over T20 World Cup's future

KARACHI: The International Cricket Council has decided to wait for another month before making a final decision on the future of this year’s scheduled T20 World Cup in Australia.

The ICC, in its board meeting that was held via video conference, discussed various options to decide the fate of this year’s tournament and agreed to “continue exploring a number of contingency plans” until next month.

The board also discussed issues related to the confidentiality of board matters and decided that all board and ICC management members be a party to an inquiry being led by ICC’s ethics officer.

“The International Cricket Council board today agreed to continue exploring a number of contingency plans regarding the future of the T20 World Cup 2020 and the Women’s Cricket World Cup 2021 until next month whilst planning for delivery of the events in the scheduled window is ongoing,” said ICC, in a statement following the board meeting.

“The board expressed its desire to continue to assess and evaluate the rapidly changing public health situation caused by COVID-19, working with key stakeholders including governments to explore how the events can be staged to protect the health and safety of everyone involved,” it said.

According to the ICC, the contingency planning process will evaluate health and safety, cricket, partner, and host considerations, ensuring any decision taken is in the best interests of the sport, its members, and fans.

ICC Chief Executive Manu Sawhney said that the situation surrounding the global pandemic is evolving rapidly and the ICC wants to avail the best possible opportunity to make the right decision for the sport.

“The health and well-being of everyone involved is our priority and other considerations fall out from that,” he said.

“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,” Sawhney added.

"Meanwhile, the inquiry, which is being led by the ICC's ethics officer, will be supported administratively by a sub-group of the board comprising Independent Director Indra Nooyi and Chair of the F&CA Ehsan Mani. All Members of the Board and ICC Management are party to the inquiry,” the ICC statement said.

The ICC has also extended the deadline given to the Board of Control for Cricket in India to provide a tax solution to December 2020.