Disruptions of the virus outbreak to international sporting events continue, as today the International Cricket Council (ICC) announced ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2020 which was scheduled to take place in Australia later this year would be postponed. The event that was scheduled to take place from October 18 till November 15, 2020, will now begin November 14, 2021.
International Calendar Changes
The commercial subsidiary of the ICC, the IBC Board, held its meeting today, with the focus on bringing clarity to the sporting calendar regarding events for the next three years.
“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.”
Manu Sawhney, CEO, ICC
Looking to provide opportunities for the sport to recover from the disruption caused by the virus outbreak, the Board decided to change the windows for the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2022 and ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023 also. The two events will take place from October -November 2022 with the final on 13 November 2022, and from October – November 2023, with the final on 26 November 2023, respectively.
Continuous Monitoring & Evaluation
The Board members agreed to continue to monitor the ongoing health situation and make considerate decisions based on all information available, to ensure future events in 2021 and 2022 are staged in a safe environment. One of these events, the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup 2021 in New Zealand in February next year continues as planned, with the Board constantly evaluating the rapidly changing situation.
“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.”
Manu Sawhney, CEO, ICC
The ICC is the governing body for cricket globally and as part of its governing and administration, it is also responsible for staging of all ICC events. The ICC’s announcement will now bring clarity to its 105 members regarding event windows and will allow them to reschedule lost bilateral and domestic cricket.
The Men’s Cricket World Cup is a critical element of this with regards to maintaining the integrity of the qualification process, so that qualification can be decided on the field of play, ICC’s CEO Sawhney concluded.
The postponement of the T20 World Cup is the latest of a series of high-caliber sporting events disrupted by the virus outbreak. In March, all US major leagues, as well as top European football competitions were scrapped to help curb the spread of the virus.