World Cup Cricket qualifiers, T20 and other events that ICC postponed

• Eight ICC events, including T20 World Cup qualifiers scheduled till June 2020, have been postponed.
• If the situation does not improve, the Men’s T20 World Cup could be the next major cricketing tournament that could be delayed.
• The Coronavirus pandemic led to the postponement of IPL 2020, which could very likely be cancelled if the situation doesn’t improve.

For those who are already dejected over the postponement of IPL, there is more bad news to come. The International Cricket Council today postponed T20 World Cup and World Cup 2023 qualifiers till June 2020 in response to the Coronavirus pandemic.

All ICC events scheduled before June 2020 will be affected and shall be subjected to further review. The international cricketing body noted that the decision has been taken in line with government and health advisories.

“In light of the significant global health concerns at the current time and the restrictions on movement imposed by governments across the world, the ICC has taken the decision to postpone all events up until the end of June subject to further review,” ICC’s head of events Chris Tetley said.

Men’s T20 World Cup could be postponed too

ICC has a major tournament coming up later this year, the Men’s T20 World Cup which is scheduled to be held in October 2020. If the Coronavirus situation does not improve, the ICC might have to change this event’s schedule as well.

Fate of IPL 2020 hangs in the balance

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) had to postpone IPL 2020 to April 15. While it is safe from the 21 days nationwide lockdown announced by the Indian government, the threat of cancellation continues to loom large.

Due to the ongoing situation in the country, BCCI cancelled scheduled conference calls with IPL stakeholders, and continues to take up a wait-and-watch attitude.

ICC tournaments postponed due to Coronavirus

At the moment, ICC has confirmed that it is postponing the following tournaments:

• ICC Men’s T20 World Cup Qualifier A – Asia; 16 – 21 April
• ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup League 2 – 20 – 27 April
• ICC Men’s T20 World Cup Qualifier A – Europe - Host Spain; 16 - 22 May
• ICC Men’s T20 World Cup Sub- Regional Qualifier – Africa; 27 April – 3 May
• ICC Men’s T20 World Cup Qualifier A – Europe; 16 - 22 May
• ICC Men’s T20 World Cup Qualifier C – Europe; 10 - 16 June
• ICC Men’s T20 World Cup Qualifier B – Asia; 26 June – 2 July
• ICC Men’s T20 World Cup Qualifier B – Europe; 24 - 30 June

ICC also said that it will continue to monitor the situation. It will make a decision on the remaining events scheduled in 2020 as more details emerge.

See also:

IPL 2020 postponed to April 15 as the game will have no ‘charisma’ without foreign players

Disney+ delays launch on Hotstar due to IPL postponement

India-South Africa series cancelled due to coronavirus threat