Former New Zealand captain Brendon McCullum has called for a postponement of this year’s T20 World Cup in Australia, saying that the idea of playing the tournament behind closed doors isn’t an appealing one.
The ICC’s flagship 20-over international event is due to take place in October, but with the world still grappling with the coronavirus pandemic that has forced countries all over the globe into a lockdown, and with the restrictions on international travel likely to remain in place for the foreseeable future, there are doubts over whether the tournament could go ahead as scheduled, and even if it does, the unlikelihood of mass gatherings being allowed could force it to be played in an empty arena, an idea McCullum does not endorse.
“As a punter, if I were to put my final dollar on what the schedule would look like, it would be that the T20 World Cup has got to be at risk,” McCullum told Sky Cricket Podcast.
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“For Australia to move 16 international teams plus all of their support staff and then broadcasters, seems a bridge too far. I can’t see them playing the T20 World Cup behind closed doors either.”
McCullum instead proposed that the World Cup be pushed back to early 2021, which could then open up a window for the IPL, which as of the moment has been indefinitely suspended.
McCullum, however, doesn’t think that a closed-doors IPL would be as much of an issue as India will have enough eyeballs on the product for the BCCI to be able to cushion the impact from lack of gate revenue.
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“There may be a window a bit later in the new year of 2021 which could then open up a window for the IPL,” McCullum said. “You’d have to move some overseas players for the IPL, but with the broadcasters based in India, it is a lot easier to pull it all together.
“The ICC and world cricket need crowds to operate, but India can probably sustain things commercially, behind closed doors because they are going to get so many eyeballs. I think the IPL will try and target that October window and the T20 World Cup will get pushed back.”
McCullum acknowledged that if his proposal is indeed implemented, it could lead to a postponement of the women’s 50-over World Cup, scheduled for early next year, but hoped a workable solution could be arrived at. “That may mean the women’s World Cup gets pushed back,” he said, “but hopefully we get to see all three tournaments operate.”
