West Indies cricketers celebrate after beating England during the ICC World Cup T20 final match. (Express photo by Subham Dutta)
The International Cricket Council on Wednesday revealed that it will wait for another month before taking a call on this year’s T20 World Cup. Stating that it wants to continue exploring contingency plans amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the board also said that it will evaluate health and safety, cricket, partner and host considerations ensuring any decision taken is in the best interests of the sport, its Members and fans.
The World Cup is scheduled to be held in Australia in October-November.
“The situation surrounding the global pandemic is evolving rapidly and we want to give ourselves the best possible opportunity to make the right decision for the whole sport. The health and well-being of everyone involved is our priority and other considerations fall out from that,” ICC chief executive Manu Sawhney said in a statement after the Board meeting held via video conference.
“We will only get one chance to make this decision and it needs to be the right one and as such we will continue to consult with our Members, broadcasters, partners, governments and players and to ensure that we make a well-informed decision,” he added.
On the matter of tax exemptions, the ICC Board said: “It discussed the ongoing issue of tax exemptions required for ICC events and agreed to extend the deadline given to the BCCI to provide a tax solution to December 2020.”
It extended the deadline for the Indian Board to get the promised tax exemption from the country’s central government which is mandatory to hold ICC tournaments like World T20 and ODI World Cup.