ICC T20 World Cup organisers hopeful of successful tournament despite coronavirus pandemic

With the dreaded COVID-19 pandemic leaving the sporting calendar shattered, many events and tournaments have been either cancelled or postponed. All eyes are on big cricket tournaments such as Indian Premier League (IPL) 2020 and the ICC T20 World Cup, which are yet to be cancelled amid the coronavirus pandemic.

While the fans are eagerly waiting for cricket action to resume, the chief executive of the T20 World Cup organizing committee has said that they areoptimistic that the T20 World Cup, which is scheduled to be hosted by Australia in October, will go as planned. "We're wanting to give ourselves the best possible chance of going ahead as planned, so there's no imminent or quick decision," Nick Hockley, chief executive of the T20 World Cup organising committee, said.

"Hopefully it's all resolved and we go ahead. In the event that it isn't completely resolved, we are looking at all the different scenarios. Which is only prudent. They are collective discussions involving the organising committee, the ICC, all the members. We will keep everyone updated if anything changes. But for now, we're just under seven months away ... we've got a bit of time," he added.

Hockley further stated that in case there is an extended season, the conduction of T20 World Cup becomes more likely while adding Australia might not get the chance to host a World Cup in the next 10 or 20 years.

"We really feel for the winter codes, obviously they're doing it very tough," Hockley said while adding, “in the event they have extended seasons ... we still think the World Cup is a really strong proposition that might not come here again for 10 or 20 years. We're very encouraged already by the take up in terms of ticket sales," he added.

However, the Australian Football League (AFL) and National Rugby League (NRL) have already witnessed suspended leagues, which puts more question marks on the future of T20 World Cup.