BCCI and Cricket Australia set to face off over postponed T20 World Cup: Report

The T20 World Cup 2020 might be all but postponed but the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and Cricket Australia (CA) could be headed for a major face-off on the issue. The postponed event in all likelihood will take place in 2021 but the BCCI already have rights to hold the T20 World Cup 2021.

With most cricket boards cash-strapped at the moment, it’s unlikely that the BCCI will yield their right to host a premier event like the T20 World Cup.

According to Pakistan’s Dawn.com, the International Cricket Council (ICC) are set to host back-to-back meetings this month. The first meeting will be to decide the successor of outgoing ICC chairman Shashank Manohar, while the second meeting is expected to decide the fate of ICC T20 World Cup 2020.

“Reliable sources told DawnNews that contingency plans of World T20 have already been shared with members boards and now they will decide about the fate of the World T20, scheduled to be held in Australia in October this year,” the report on Dawn.com read.

The BCCI are not prepared to host a postponed T20 World Cup in 2022 because that would mean hosting back-to-back ICC events. India already have the hosting rights to stage the 2023 50-over World Cup.

“Sources said that Cricket Australia is very keen to host World T20 next year if the this year’s event is cancelled.The CA strongly feel that since it was to host this year’s World T20 event, it should automatically be awarded the rights to host the same next year if it gets cancelled this year,” the Dawn report added.

The report further said that the broadcasters want BCCI to host the tournament next year which can see CA take a backseat.

The BCCI is already looking for a confirmation of postponement of T20 World Cup so that they can go ahead with scheduling of 13th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) which has already been delayed from March due to the Coronavirus pandemic.

The BCCI is exploring all options to organise the IPL, even if it has to be hosted overseas in UAE or Sri Lanka.

“We (BCCI) had been offered by the UAE cricket board to host the IPL and there is nothing wrong in exploring the options in front of us but nothing is confirmed. Sri Lanka has also offered to host the IPL. All of this will be discussed in the IPL governing council meeting, which will be held soon,” a source was quoted as saying by TimesNownews.com.