Legendary Pakistan fast bowler, Wasim Akram, has absolutely no doubt in his mind that the International Cricket Council (ICC) should look for another "suitable time" to host the T20 World Cup instead of going ahead with the tournament behind closed doors in Australia.
Speculations have been rife over the fate of the showpiece event because of the logistical challenges posed amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
The 16-team event is scheduled to be held down under from October 18 to November 15.
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"Personally, I don't think it's a good idea. I mean, how could you have a cricket World Cup without spectators," Wasim told 'The News' on Thursday (June 4).
"A World Cup is all about big crowds, spectators coming from all parts of the globe to support their teams. It's all about atmosphere and you cannot get it behind closed doors."
"So I believe that they (ICC) should wait for a more suitable time and once this pandemic subsides and restrictions are eased then we can have a proper World Cup," he added.
The ICC has already deferred discussions over the T20 World Cup to June 10. The governing body is exploring all contingency plans to safeguard its flagship event. In circumstances where its member countries have been forced to opt for indefinite lockdowns, however, the best option would be to shift the tournament to another year in the ongoing FTP cycle.
Wasim, meanwhile, also explained why imminent ban on the usage of saliva as a ball-applicator to maintain shine is a major issue for all bowlers and why sweat isn't an ideal substitute.
"I'm sure fast bowlers won't like it if they are stopped from using saliva to shine the ball. They are allowing sweat but I can say for sure that it isn't the same," said the pace legend, who took 414 Test and 502 ODI wickets in his great career, reiterating how saliva helps one side get heavier and makes the ball tilt in the air as an aid to swing.
"You shine the ball with saliva and sweat is just something of an add-on, a top-up. Too much use of sweat will leave the cricket ball too wet."
"I believe that they will need to find a reasonable solution. But I would say that they will need to find a quick fix to this problem," Wasim concluded.
(Inputs from PTI)
