Last Update on: April 28th, 2020 at 05:02 pm
Australia’s explosive power-hitter, Chris Lynn has said that he is personally not in favour of the ICC T20 World Cup going ahead amid the COVID-19 crisis. The ICC T20 World Cup is scheduled to take place in October-November later this year in Australia. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the threat of suspension looms large over the much-awaited tournament.
The International Cricket Council, the sport’s global governing body, said last week it was still planning for the tournament according to its October 18 – November 15 schedule, despite a worldwide shutdown of sport to contain COVID-19. Many cricketers do not think that this will be a fair idea as a lot of players might enter the tournament with a lack of form due to lack of game time in the present scenario.
Chris Lynn, who has played 18 T20 internationals, said he could not see it going ahead due to the complications of hosting international teams in the 16-side tournament.
Chris Lynn Objects Holding The T20 World Cup Amid Coronavirus Crisis
“My personal opinion is no,” Chris Lynn told local broadcaster Fox Sports on Tuesday. “Obviously we’re praying for it to go ahead but we’ve just got to play what’s in front of us. Having teams come from all over the world is going to be a logistical nightmare. Hotels, travel, keeping the teams in the hotels for a number of weeks before the tournament is going to be tough work moving forward,” Lynn added.
Cricket Australia has said it is planning for the tournament to start in October. Still, Chief Executive Kevin Roberts conceded last week that the entire international schedule in 2020 is up in the air due to the virus.
Coronavirus Threat Looms Large Over The ICC T20 World Cup
The cricketing world has also suffered a great deal due to the pandemic. Major cricketing events have either been postponed or suspended in the wake of the pandemic. Australia was supposed to host the ICC T20 World Cup later this year, but due to the outbreak, there are speculations that the tournament might be held behind closed doors.
Recently, the IPL 2020 was postponed indefinitely due to the coronavirus outbreak. To the disappointment of the cricket fans, the India-South Africa ODI series was also called off. Apart from it, the Road Safety World Series has also been suspended.
All the English players playing in the Pakistan Super League (PSL) were called back immediately, and the tournament was postponed.
