A decision about the upcoming cricket World Cup tournaments has not been made as the International Cricket Council said on Wednesday that contingency plans will continue to be explored and a final call was unlikely for a month.
The ICC board said an agreement was reached to “continue exploring contingency plans regarding the future of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2020 and the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup 2021 until next month whilst planning for delivery of the events in the scheduled window is ongoing.”
The men’s T20 World Cup is scheduled to be held in Australia in October-November while New Zealand are scheduled to host the women’s 50-over event next year.
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The Board expressed its desire to continue to assess and evaluate the rapidly changing public health situation caused by Covid-19, working with key stakeholders including governments to explore how the events can be staged to protect the health and safety of everyone involved.
ICC Chief Executive Manu Sawhney said, “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.
“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.
Tax exemptions
The board also 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. The tug of war over tax exemptions with the BCCI has been ongoing as ICC 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.
Independent investigation
After the furore in the previous meeting over leak of information, the ICC board received an update on the independent investigation. The enquiry over confidentiality issues, which is being led by the ethics officer, will be supported administratively by a sub-group of the board comprising Independent Director Indra Nooyi and Ehsan Mani, ICC said in a release.
(With PTI inputs)
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