IPL Chairman Brijesh Patel Takes Dig At ICC For Delayed Decision On T20 World Cup

The ICC, on Monday, finally announced their decision to postpone this year’s T20 World Cup. The marquee event was scheduled to be held in Australia in October-November. However, the postponement of the tournament was very much on the cards since the coronavirus outbreak halted cricket action around the world in March.

The governing body of the game was expected to announce the fate of the tournament earlier. Cricket Australia chairman Earl Eddings, as early as June, had described the staging of the tournament this year as “unlikely”, pointing out the practical difficulties in hosting a 16-team tournament in the wake of the pandemic. The ICC, however, decided against taking an early call but eventually postponed it.

IPL chairman unimpressed:

While ICC’s decision to postpone the T20 World Cup has paved the way for this year’s IPL, Brijesh Patel, IPL Governing Council chairman, is not at all impressed with the apex body’s delayed decision. Soon after the ICC announced their decision, Brijesh Patel aimed a dig at them for delaying the announcement.

“They (ICC) should have called off the World Cup much earlier. I don’t know why they delayed. They should have given all the (Member) boards enough time to make their own programmes… Bilateral programmes, even for us, IPL we could have planned much earlier,” Brijesh Patel told The Indian Express.

He further said that the BCCI hasn’t fixed any dates for the IPL, and a decision will be taken in the next Governing Council meeting. He also said that the board is currently awaiting government’s decision for the venue of this year’s competition.

“We will have a Governing Council meeting in about a week or so and accordingly, we will finalise the dates and the arrangements to be made for the IPL. We are waiting for the government’s permission (to hold it in the UAE). We will (formally) inform the franchises (in due course). Now that the World Cup is called off, things will start moving,” said the former India middle-order batsman.

Earlier this year, the BCCI had suspended the IPL indefinitely because of the Covid-induced lockdown. Last week, the board, during its Apex Council meeting, confirmed that the tournament would be held, subject to the postponement of the T20 World Cup and the Indian government’s approval.

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