2020 Men’s T20 World Cup postponed due to coronavirus pandemic

The ICC men’s T20 World Cup, set to be held in Australia later this year, has been postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic, the ICC has announced.

The tournament was scheduled to take place between October 18 and November 15, with the final at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.

The ICC now plans to hold T20 World Cups in 2021 and 2022 – both in October and November – with the men’s 50-over World Cup in India in 2023 now pushed back from a spring to an autumn slot to allow for a longer qualification period.

ICC Chief Executive Manu Sawhney said: “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.

“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.

“Our Members now have the clarity they need around event windows to enable them to reschedule lost bilateral and domestic cricket.

“Moving the Men’s Cricket World Cup to a later window is a critical element of this and gives us a better chance of maintaining the integrity of the qualification process.

“This additional time will be used to reschedule games that might be lost because of the pandemic ensuring qualification can be decided on the field of play.”

The 2021 women’s 50-over World Cup, to be staged in New Zealand in February, will still go ahead as planned but the situation will continue to be evaluated.

(c) Sky Sports 2020: 2020 Men’s T20 World Cup postponed due to coronavirus pandemic