MUMBAI: A damning testament to the sorry state of cricket administration across all segments was in plain sight Thursday after the International Cricket Council (ICC) board deferred “all agenda items” until it again reconvenes via via teleconference on 10 June.
The reason? Concerns over the “confidentiality” of its functioning. Translated to mean concerns expressed over the constant flow of information, a lot of which was contradictory, from unnamed top officials / sources in India, Australia and the ICC itself, on what was being planned / discussed regarding the fate of this year’s T20 World Cup in Australia in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The ICC press release issued after the “aborted” meeting says it all: “…all agenda items deferred until 10 June 2020 following a discussion, led by chairman Shashank Manohar, around the issue of confidentiality”.
The release further reads: “A number of Board members had raised their concerns over this issue recently and felt it required immediate attention to ensure the sanctity and confidentiality of board matters in line with the highest standards of governance.
“There was unanimous agreement to immediately initiate an independent investigation led by the ICC’s ethics officer and supported by global experts. The board will be updated on this by the ICC CEO at its next meeting on 10 June 2020.”
Almost as an aside, the release notes: “The board also requested the ICC management continue with their discussions with stakeholders in exploring various contingency options in light of the rapidly changing public health situation caused by the COVID-19 virus.”
The World Cup is scheduled from October 18 to November 15 but there is intense speculation about the event being postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the window being used to slot in the currently suspended IPL.
According to a report by news agency PTI, ICC board discussed all options with regards to the World Cup but there was no unanimity on whether to go ahead with the World T20 as per schedule or postpone it to 2021 or possibly 2022, which for many is a practical solution.
Cricket Australia 2020-21 summer season schedule
With Cricket Australia announcing its itinerary on the day, which included T20 matches in October, there are questions as to why the World T20 cannot go ahead in such a scenario.
“If you look at the Australian itinerary, India’s T20 games are scheduled in mid-October before the start of World T20. If you can play T20 games in mid-October, why is it not safe to play World T20,” PTI quoted a source as having said.
