No decision on ICC T20 World Cup in Australia this year yet

The International Cricket Council Board has not arrived at any decision on the status of the ICC T20 World Cup in Australia this year during the video conference today. The matter has been deferred by a month.

Amidst uncertainties, the ICC has neither decided to postpone the tournament, nor confirmed that it will take place from October 10 to November 15 Down Under as per original schedule. For the next one month, work on contingency plans and preparation for the World Cup during Australian summer will continue simultaneously.

“The ICC Board will continue to explore possible contingency plans regarding the 2020 men’s @T20WorldCup and the 2021 women’s @cricketworldcup until next month,” the ICC has stated in a tweeted message. “Planning will continue for both tournaments to run as scheduled.”

There remains little hope of the World Cup taking place in Australia this year. Cricket Australia had already made a formal request to the ICC to defer the event.

However, an announcement the ICC will not be in a position to confirm the postponement until the next dates are finalised.

SportzFront had reported on Monday that there was no possibility of a final verdict on the T20 World Cup 2020 in Australia.

The Board expressed its desire to continue to assess and evaluate the rapidly changing public health situation caused by COVID-19 working with key stakeholders including governments to explore how the events can be staged to protect the health and safety of everyone involved, ICC stated in a Press note.

“The situation surrounding the global pandemic is evolving rapidly and we want to give ourselves the best possible opportunity to make the right decision for the whole sport. The health and well-being of everyone involved is our priority and other considerations fall out from that,” said ICC Chief Executive Manu Sawhney.

“We will only get one chance to make this decision and it needs to be the right one and as such we will continue to consult with our Members, broadcasters, partners, governments and players and to ensure that we make a well informed decision.”

While there is also no declaration on the election process for the ICC Independent Chair to elect the successor of Shashank Manohar, ICC also did not have any conclusive answers on the matter of tax exemption from the World Cup host nation or the independent investigation into the confidentiality of board matters.

Tax Exemptions

The Board discussed the ongoing issue of tax exemptions required for ICC events and agreed to extend the deadline given to the BCCI to provide a tax solution to December 2020.

Independent Investigation

The Board received an update on the independent investigation into confidentiality of Board matters. The inquiry, which is being led by the ICC Ethics Officer, will be supported administratively by a sub-group of the Board comprising Independent Director Indra Nooyi and Chair of the F&CA Ehsan Mani. All Members of the Board and ICC Management are party to the inquiry.

Admin Sportz Front

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