While there was no consensus amid full-member CEOs as far as the T20 World Cup in Australia is concerned in the recent ICC meeting, one BCCI official privy to the developments told IANS that it "seems impractical" at this stage that the tournament will be held on time in October-November due to COVID-19 pandemic.
There is a six-month lockdown in place down under, with the Australian government firm on its stance against the deadly outbreak, which has led to a global health crisis. The ban, it is safe to assume, will be revoked only when the life returns to normalcy.
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"To be honest, the T20 World Cup in October seems to be impractical and even thinking of a gathering of people of that magnitude at this time is naive," the official said.
"I mean think about it. At this stage, you don’t know when international travel would be safe. Someone is saying June, someone is saying longer."
"Once travel does open up, it would be prudent to study the impact of travel as to whether the coronavirus remains controlled or not."
Cricket Australia (CA) chief Kevin Roberts recently said that the board, along with the ICC, are planning for the showpiece event to be held as per schedule, hoping that the outbreak will relent sooner rather than later.
"The question would then be whether the CA and the ICC are willing to stick their necks out and take responsibility for such an event where the number of people converging would be significant," the official said, playing down those thoughts in wake of the threat posed to the human life.
"Then it comes down to the governments. Would the Australian government want to take such a risk? If so, what would be the timeline of their approval? Would the time be sufficient for the other boards? Would the governments of other countries permit their teams to travel?"
"Lastly, with the condition that everyone is going through at the moment, would the fans want to gather in a stadium at this stage? Or would the tickets of only one out of 10 seats be made available to keep a semblance of social distancing norms in place?" the official asked.
(Inputs from IANS)
