The Twenty20 World Cup is under "very high risk" of not being hosted this year due to the coronavirus pandemic, Cricket Australia boss Kevin Roberts has said.
Like most major sport, professional cricket has been in lockdown since March, causing the cancellation and postponement of numerous international series and franchise competitions. That includes the Indian Premier League (IPL), which has continuously pushed back its start date.
"Obviously, we’ve been hopeful all along that it could be staged in October-November but you would have to say there is a very high risk about the prospect of that happening," Roberts told reporters in a video call on Friday.
"In the event that doesn’t happen, there are potential windows in the February-March period, October-November the following year.
"And there are implications here for the ICC over a number of years. So there’s a lot of complexity for the ICC to deal with."
The International Cricket Council (ICC), the sport's world governing body, has the final say over whether the October 18-November 15 event will go ahead.
On Thursday, the ICC deferred decisions over the tournament until its next board meeting on June 10.
India's cricket board (BCCI), which is set to host the following edition of the tournament in 2021, is keeping a close eye on developments as a postponement could open up a window for the IPL.
The lucrative franchise-based tournament, which was supposed to start at the end of March, had to be postponed indefinitely due to the pandemic and the BCCI faces a $530 million (Dh1.95 billion) dip in revenue if the competition fails to go ahead.
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Paul Radley's Top 20 cricketers under 20
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Naseem Shah (Pakistan, 17 years). Handled correctly, Pakistan have a pace attack that should be a force to be reckoned with for the next decade. Shah already has a Test hat-trick to his name. AFP -
Yashasvi Jaiswal (India, 18). Should have been playing in the Indian Premier League this month, having been signed by Rajasthan Royals for $340,000. Left-handed opener with power. Courtesy ICC -
Sandeep Lamichhane (Nepal, 19). The leg-spinner has two years of IPL experience under his belt, and is arguably the outstanding bowler outside of the Test sphere already. Courtesy Johan Jooste -
Mujeeb Ur Rahman (Afghanistan, 19). Only turned 19 at the end of March, but has played a Test, a World Cup, as well as as an overseas player in UAE, Australia, England, Bangladesh and India. AFP -
Akbar Ali (Bangladesh, 18). The wicketkeeper has been much feted in Bangladesh – where he was termed Akbar the Great – after overseeing their first U19 World Cup win in February. Courtesy: ICC -
Jayden Seales (West Indies, 18). Picked out by both Ian Bishop and Tom Moody as one for the near future for West Indies after the U19 World Cup, and the pace bowler has since landed a CPL deal. Courtesy: ICC -
Shafiqullah Ghafari (Afghanistan, 18). Afghanistan are inundated with young, talented spinners. Where Mujeeb, Rashid Khan, Zahir Khan, and Qais Ahmed have led, leg-spinner Ghafari is sure to follow. Courtesy ICC -
Haider Ali (Pakistan, 19). Reinforced a reputation he had already etched out at the U19 World Cup with an eye-catching campaign in Peshawar Zalmi’s middle-order in the PSL. AFP -
Shoriful Islam (Bangladesh, 18). Bangladesh are no strangers to bringing through fiery left-arm quicks via U19 World Cups – see Mustafizur Rahman – and Shoriful might be next. Courtesy ICC -
Tanveer Sangha (Australia, 18). The leg-spinner became the youngest player to land a BBL contract when Sydney Thunder signed him up aged 17 years and 346 days. Courtesy ICC -
Ravi Bishnoi (India, 19). The son of a school headmaster was of the players of the tournament in the U19 World Cup in South Africa, where his leg-spin and googly combinations made him the leading wicket-taker. Courtesy ICC -
Rakibul Hasan (Bangladesh, 17). The left-arm orthodox bowler’s control in the middle-overs was central to Bangladesh winning their first U19 world title in February. Courtesy ICC -
Jonathan Figy (UAE, 18). Dubai-born, Abu Dhabi-raised, now at university in England, he was the first centurion at this year’s U19 World Cup, having already played senior ODI cricket. Antonie Robertson / The National -
Hamidullah Qadri (England, 19). Became the first county cricketer born this millennium when he debuted for Derbyshire in 2017. The Kandahar-born off-spinner was in the wickets at the U19 World Cup. AFP -
Kushal Malla (Nepal, 16). Overtook the likes of Sachin Tendullkar and Shahid Afridi when he became the youngest player to score an ODI 50 aged just 15 earlier this year. Subas Humagain for The National -
Tom Mackintosh (Scotland, 16). Born in Madrid, Scotland’s wicketkeeper gave a sneak peak of his talent ahead of the World Cup with a blistering hundred in a practice game against UAE in Dubai in January. Courtesy ICC -
Kartik Tyagi (India, 19). A farmer’s son who was mentored by the same coach as Praveen Kumar and Bhuvneshwar Kumar, he landed an IPL deal with Rajasthan Royals after thriving in South Africa. Courtesy ICC -
Rohail Nazir (Pakistan, 18). Captained Pakistan to the semifinal at the U19 World Cup, before going on to catch the eye with the bat in the two brief cameos he managed in the PSL that followed. AFP -
Bryce Parsons (South Africa, 19). The left-handed batsman is another from the prolific production line that South Africa will be hoping they can keep hold of rather than seeing him seek opportunities elsewhere. Courtesy ICC -
Priyam Garg (India, 19). India’s U19 captain already has a first-class double century to his name, as well as two tons in List A limited-overs cricket, and is due to play for Sunrisers Hyderabad in the IPL. Getty
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The IPL's move to an October-November slot could impact Australia's scheduled T20 series with West Indies (October 4-9) and India (October 11-17) confirmed on Thursday, with a number of Australian internationals contracted to IPL teams.
Australia's cricketers would need exemptions from CA to be excused from international duty and play in the IPL but Roberts declined to say whether CA would grant them.
"The question of the IPL will be addressed when a decision is made around the T20 World Cup, that’s the key influencing factor there," he said.
