Dean Jones, India National Cricket Team
Dean Jones. (Photo: Getty Images)

Former Australian cricketer-turned commentator Dean Jones has reckoned that there is no chance of the ICC T20 World Cup taking place in Australia this year. The T20 World Cup was set to take place Down Under between October 18-November 15 but with the proliferation of the coronavirus, and its subsequent impact has put the tournament under jeopardy.

T20 World Cup Will Not Take Place This Year: Dean Jones
T20 World Cup 2020. (Photo: Twitter)

The ICC is set to take a final decision on the future of the tournament when it meets via video conference on June 10 but Jones feels that given the fact it is a world tournament consisting of 16 teams and their support staff, it would be nearly impossible to retrench such a fast number of personnel.

“T20 World Cup isn’t going to happen in Australia this year for a lot of reasons,” Dean Jones said on Sportscreen’s YouTube page.

“Firstly, Cricket Australia has retrenched a lot of people. So when you have 16 teams here, and 30-40 people per team including staff, players and administrators, you won’t be able to do it.”  the former Australian batsman added.

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‘They can handle India but not the 15 other teams’- Dean Jones on the possibility of T20 World Cup

Jones added that given the fact that host nations do not make money by hosting a World Cup currently, the upcoming India-Australia series will be very important as far as Cricket Australia’s financial health is concerned.

“Especially with the cover restrictions being very stringent here in Australia. And the host country also doesn’t make much money by hosting a World Cup,” Jones added.

“They used to, but not now under the rules. So, where do they (Cricket Australia) make their money now? We will make 220 million US dollars on a full India tour of four Tests and ODIs. And of course, Australia is in a pickle, like all other cricket boards and so they are trying to protect their own space. So I think they can handle India and not be able to handle 15 other countries coming here,” Dean Jones reckoned.

T20 World Cup Will Not Take Place This Year: Dean Jones
India won the 2018-19 series 2-1 (Photo-Reuters)

Cricket Australia recently announced the venues of the four-match Test series against India. The series will kick off at the Gabba on December 03 and will be followed by a pink-ball Test at the Adelaide Oval before the traditional Boxing Day and New Year Test takes over.

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