It is tough to think about T20 World Cup at this stage: BCCI Official
The whole world is currently in lockdown and major events in entertainment and sports have either been cancelled or suspended. The sixth edition of Twenty20 (T20) World Cup is scheduled to take place later this year. The conduct of this year’s all-nation cricket extravaganza looks doubtful, given the status of the world right now.
A BCCI official told IANS that it "seems impractical" at this stage that the tournament will be held somewhere in October-November due to COVID-19 pandemic.
“To be honest, the T20 World Cup in October seems to be impractical and even thinking of a gathering of people of that magnitude at this time is naive," the official said.
With travel being one of the issues, Australia who is the host of the upcoming T20 World Cup has enforced travel bans until 30 September.
"I mean think about it. At this stage, you don’t know when international travel would be safe. Someone is saying June, someone is saying longer."
"Once travel does open up, it would be prudent to study the impact of travel as to whether the coronavirus remains controlled or not."
“The question would then be whether the CA and the ICC is willing to stick their necks out and take responsibility for such an event where the number of people converging would be significant," the official said, playing down the chances in wake of the threat posed to the human life.
The BCCI official raised a few questions which were totally accurate given the fact that the health and safety of everyone who is involved is top priority.
"Then it comes down to the governments. Would the Australian government want to take such a risk? If so, what would be the timeline of their approval? Would the time be sufficient for the other boards? Would the governments of other countries permit their teams to travel?"
"Lastly, with the condition that everyone is going through at the moment, would the fans want to gather in a stadium at this stage? Or would the tickets of only one out of 10 seats be made available to keep a semblance of social distancing norms in place?" the official asked.
We’d like to know your views on when the T20 World Cup should be held? Don’t forget to leave your suggestions in the comments down below.
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