This article was last updated on April 16, 2022
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The T20 World Cup is slated to be hosted in Australia from October 18 to November 15. However, the future of the T20I showpiece is unlikely due to the coronavirus pandemic. The travelling restrictions in Australia are going to hold till mid-September and it is not going to be easy for world cricket governing body – ICC and Cricket Australia (CA) to stage the tournament as planned.
Firstly, 15 teams will need to travel to Australia, which raises a big question mark on the tourney. Every squad generally has 30 members including the support staff and it will be difficult to manage them.
Secondly, all the 16 teams will need to travel to different venues for their respective matches. Thus, it is going to be hard to manage from a logistical point of view.
Meanwhile, as the cricket world has come to a grinding halt, the fans are not able to use live cricket odds in the COVID-19 era.
According to the latest cricket update, the final call on the T20 World Cup is expected to be taken by ICC on June 10. However, it is well known that Cricket Australia and the Australian government will have a major say in the final decision.
Precisely, the Australian government has done a good job thus far in keeping coronavirus in check and they would not want to undo all the good work of the last few months.
Even if the T20 World Cup is scheduled as it planned, it is going to be hosted behind closed doors. A global event without any crowd will be surreal to watch. Moreover, Cricket Australia CEO Kevin Roberts has confirmed that the Australian board will suffer a huge monetary loss of AUD 50 million if the tournament goes ahead as planned because no ticket sale will be possible.
As per the new guidelines, there cannot be any celebration among the players and the players will need to quarantine themselves for 14 days. No saliva is recommended for the bowlers.
Most importantly, the other cricket boards will want to play bilateral series in place of the T20 World Cup—to make up for the monetary losses they have incurred during this testing period.
On the other hand, if the T20 World Cup goes on, India, Australia, England and the West Indies will be the front contenders. India has been consistent in the last few ICC tournaments however they haven’t crossed the last hurdle.
As Australia will be the host, their players will be accustomed to their own conditions better than the opposition team. Aaron Finch-led team will be confident of winning their maiden T20 World Cup.
England have got the confidence under their belt after winning the 50-over World Cup and they are known to play aggressive white-ball cricket under the dynamic leadership of Eoin Morgan.
West Indies are the reigning champions and they can surprise with their performances. The Windies might not have the same 2016 team but one cannot rule them out of the T20 World Cup given the history of their favourite format.
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