Mark Taylor feels it is probably not viable to have WT20 in oct or Nov

May 24, 2020
Sydney:  Cricket Australia Director and former Australia captain Mark Taylor urged the International Cricket Council (ICC) to take a decision on the men’s T20 World Cup. The tournament is scheduled to be held from October 19 to November 15 in Australia, but is under a cloud of uncertainty due to the coronavirus pandemic.

“It would probably be good (if a decision is made this week),” Taylor told the Nine Network. “Because then everyone can start planning and we can stop sitting here and saying ‘well ifs, buts or maybes’.”

The window of October to November is also a period that the Board of Control of Cricket in India (BCCI) is looking at as a potential period to hold the Indian Premier League (IPL). But they have made it clear that is only if the ICC decides to postpone the showpiece event.

The cash-rich T20 league was scheduled to start on March 29 but was postponed due to the outbreak of the pandemic in India.

“My feeling is the World T20 won’t go ahead in Australia in October as planned. Is it going to be viable to have a world tournament in October or November? The answer to that is probably no,” said Taylor.

While many of the current and former Australian players have themselves said that they don’t see the likelihood of the World T20 happening in October-November as per initial schedule due to the restrictions that have come in due to the coronavirus pandemic, former Australia skipper Allan Border has made it clear that the Indian Premier League shouldn’t be given priority over the showpiece event.

“(I’m) not happy with that, the world game should take precedence over a local competition. So, the World T20, if that can’t go ahead, I don’t think the IPL can go ahead,” Border said on ABC’s Grandstand Cafe radio program.

“I would question that decision (to replace it) — it’s just a money grab, isn’t it, that one? The World T20 should take precedence, for sure.”IANS