ICC postpones Men’s T20 World Cup 2020 amid global pandemic

The International Cricket Council (ICC) on Monday (July 20) officially postponed the 2020 Men’s T20 World Cup. The tournament was slated to kick off on October 18 in Australia.

The global widespread of coronavirus had put an abrupt halt to all sporting activities across the world earlier this year. The 3-month period also witnessed quite a few bilateral series being cancelled, including the Women’s World Cup Qualifiers.

Over the past few months, the apex body of cricket held multiple meetings to decide the fate of the T20 World Cup, which was left hanging mid-air due to the prolonged break. Even the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has been waiting for the ICC’s decision with bated breath. The postponement of the T20 World Cup could potentially pave the way for a ‘closed-door’ IPL 2020 in the October-November window.

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└? T20 World Cup
└? Hope it doesn’t come to this…

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The #T20WorldCup scheduled to take place in Australia this year has been officially postponed. pic.twitter.com/PZnzVOmW8T

— T20 World Cup (@T20WorldCup) July 20, 2020

What was discussed?

At Monday’s meeting, the IBC Board (the commercial subsidiary of the ICC) listed the potential windows for the next three ICC men’s events. This has been done to bring much-needed clarity to the cricket calendar and give the sport the best chance to recover in the post-Covid-19 era.

The windows are:

• The ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2021 will be held October – November 2021 with the final on 14 November 2021
• Next, the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2022 will be held October – November 2022 with the final on 13 November 2022
• ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023 will be held in India October – November 2023 with the final on 26 November 2023

From the ICC CEO

“We have undertaken a comprehensive and complex contingency planning exercise and through this process, our number one priority has been to protect the health and safety of everyone involved in the sport,” said ICC Chief Executive Manu Sawhney in a press release.

“The decision to postpone the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup was taken after careful consideration of all of the options available to us and gives us the best possible opportunity of delivering two safe and successful T20 World Cups for fans around the world.”