Australian fast bowler Kane Richardson has backed the International Cricket Council’s (ICC) decision not to hurry over the fate of the forthcoming ICC T20 World Cup 2020 to be held in Australia later this year.
The fate of the T20 World Cup 2020 to be played between October-November remains unknown, as the ICC has decided to wait for another month before taking a call on whether to postpone the showpiece event, exploring “a number of contingency plans” in the wake of the global Coronavirus pandemic.
Read Also: ICC to continue to look for contingency plans for ICC T20 World Cup until next month
Richardson, a regular in Australia's T20 squad, hailed the ICC’s move, but said T20 World Cup 2020 should be given every chance to go ahead this year amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
As per reports in cricket.com.au, Richardson said: “It's always nice to know what's going to happen in the near future but taking as much time as we can to make a decision about this is important.”
The speedster further added, “I think it's the right move, I think Australia and New Zealand have been really good in terms of flattening the curve, so I think there's some positivity there in terms of some cricket being on this summer with some kind of normality around it. The best decision is to take your time with this and make sure we've made the right decision.”
He said it would be great if Australia could play some domestic cricket before the T20 World Cup 2020, but it all depends on the COVID-19 situations in the country since Queensland borders are still closed.
The 29-year-old further added, “It depends on what the state programs can put together. If there's some domestic cricket we can play before that, that'll be a bonus. Whatever decision is made we'll roll with it. We haven't got much another choice. As we've heard said so many times, it's unprecedented, but if it means we're underprepared, then so be it … but I think we'll be fine.”
On the COVID-19 enforced break, the pacer said: “The disruption has come at a not ideal time for our team but everyone still knows and remembers what their role in the team will be and hopefully when we come together next time we'll just continue on that progress we've made.”
Australia is yet to win the T20 World Cup and Richardson feels the hosts have the perfect opportunity to lay their hands on the coveted trophy if the tournament goes ahead as per schedule this year.
Richardson signed off by saying, “At the moment it feels like everyone is really clear on what their role in the team is. In T20 cricket that's really massive. The simpler you can make the game the better. It feels like we're rolling pretty well but it also feels like a lifetime ago we played our last game. But a lot of blokes in that team have confidence in their role in the team and results have shown that.”
(With cricket.com.au Inputs)
