Contingency planning for T20 World Cup to go ahead as scheduled: ICC

The International Cricket Council (ICC) has informed that the contingency planning for all its global events, including the Men’s T20 World Cup 2020 and the Women’s Cricket World Cup 2021, will continue to go ahead as per schedule amid the coronavirus pandemic that has put all the cricketing activities across the globe at halt.

The decision was taken during a Chief Executives’ Committee meeting via conference call on Thursday as all the 12 Full Members as well as three Associate representatives came together to discuss  the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the sport.

"During the call, the CEOs of the 12 Full Members and three Associate representatives confirmed their full commitment to work in partnership to address the challenges the sport will face in the coming weeks and months. The meeting heard updates from all attendees regarding the current situation in their own countries," the ICC said in a press release.

Following the meeting, the ICC came to the decision that the planning for the two major tournaments namely World Cup and Women's World Cup will remain in place despite the tournaments being under scanner due to COVID-19 and the shutdown of Australia's international borders for a tentative period of six months.

"The CEC was updated on the continuing contingency planning for all ICC global events, including the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2020 and the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup 2021. Planning for both events as currently scheduled is ongoing," the ICC stated.

The men's T20 World Cup is slated to be held in Australia between October 18 and November 15. Meanwhile, the Women's Cricket World Cup is scheduled to be held in New Zealand between  February 6,2021 and March 7, 2021.

Reflecting on the meeting, ICC Chief Executive Manu Sawhney said, “I am grateful to my fellow CEOs for their clear commitment to a unified approach to steering cricket through this pandemic. We will work in partnership for the best outcomes for the sport in relation to both ICC events and bilateral cricket.

“We agreed on the importance of taking well informed, responsible decisions in relation to the resumption of international cricket. The complexities involved in being able to stage ICC global events are extensive to ensure we protect the health and safety of everyone involved and they will be carefully considered before any decisions are arrived at in the best interests of the game.”

Meanwhile, the future of both the World Test Championship and the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup Super League will be held at a later date when there is a greater understanding of the impact of the cricket that has been lost on the competitions.