ICC gives India time till June 28 to decide on T20 WC
The International Cricket Council has given BCCI time till June 28 to take a call on whether it would host the marquee T20 World Cup in India amid the threat posed by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The ICC Board met virtually on Tuesday with India being represented by BCCI president Sourav Ganguly and secretary Jay Shah. The T20 World Cup is due in October-November this year.
The BCCI sought a month’s time and the ICC board unanimously agreed to give that for a detailed assessment of the health situation in the country.
“Yes, the ICC board has agreed to BCCI’s request and they will have time till June 28 to decide on hosting the T20 World Cup in India. They will come back to the board next month with a concrete plan,” a source close to the ICC Board said on Tuesday.
If the BCCI is unable to host the event in India given the looming threat of a third wave of the pandemic, the tournament will shift to the UAE after it gets done with hosting the IPL, which finishes likely on October 10.
BCCI may retain the hosting rights in that scenario.
ICC to expand 50-over World Cup to 14 teams
The T20 World Cup will be held every two years during the next eight-year Futures Tours & Programme (FTP) cycle while the 50-over event will be a 14-team affair from the 2027 edition, the game’s governing body ICC said on Tuesday.
“The ICC Board confirmed the schedule of ICC events from 2024-2031 with both the men’s Cricket World Cup and men’s
T20 World Cup to be expanded and a men’s Champions Trophy to be re-introduced,” the global body said in a release issued after the board meeting.
“The men’s Cricket World Cup will become a 14 team, 54-match event in 2027 and 2031, whilst the men’s T20 World Cup will be expanded to a 20 team, 55-match event in 2024, 2026, 2028 and 2030.”
The 50-over format currently is a 10-team event while this edition of T20 World Cup will be a 16-team affair.
The men’s World Cup format will have two groups of seven, with the top three in each group progressing to a Super Six stage, followed by semi-finals and final. The format of the T20 World Cup will consist of four groups of five, with the top two from each group going through to a Super Eights stage, followed by the knockout stages.