ICC to decide the fate of the Men's T20 World Cup on March 29

Coronavirus pandemic has brought the world to a standstill. The virus which initially broke in China has now spread across the globe and taken lives of more than 16,000 people. In the wake of the outbreak of the disease, many sporting events have been cancelled across the globe. Several international cricket matches have been cancelled due to the global pandemic. Moreover, the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup is also under threat.

The seventh edition of the mega event is scheduled to begin on 18th October. Australia, the country in which the tournament is supposed to be held has also got affected by the Coronavirus. More than 2,000 people have been affected in the country. With the Australian Government prioritising the safety of the public, the concerns over the World Cup happening has increased.

Australia has locked down its borders

The International Cricket Council (ICC) has decided to take a call on the 2020 edition of the T20 World Cup on March 29. It has been decided that apex body officials will have a teleconference with all the international boards. It’s not yet clear who will be representing India at this conference.

BCCI secretary Jay Shah is one of the members of the ICC chief executive committee panel but there is no clear information if he would be taking charge. There are also speculations that the Board President Sourav Ganguly could himself be attending the meeting.

With the growing numbers of positive coronavirus patients in Australia, the country has decided to lock down its borders for now. It has been also speculated that the lockdown could get extended for another 6 months which could bring the tournament in jeopardy.

According to Indian Express, “the ICC is likely to have at least preliminary discussions on the fate of the world cup when its 18 member board of directors including heads of the 12 test playing nations hold a teleconference on March 29. It was supposed to be a full-fledged meeting over three days in Dubai before the coronavirus situation forced a change in plans.”

If the tournament is postponed to next year, it could clash with the next edition. In 2021, ICC was supposed to host the eighth edition of the World Cup in India. So it can be predicted that either of these two tournaments will be cancelled due to the outbreak of the lethal virus.