CEOS of Test nations to discuss Covid-19’s effect on future tours

nMUMBAI: Chief executives of Test playing nations will attend a conference call next week to discuss the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the Future Tours Program (FTP). Foremost on the agenda will be the World Test Championship (WTC) that is now in doubt. The final is scheduled for June next year.

India lead the table with 360 points. Australia, lying second (296 points), have already lost a chance to topple India after the postponement of its two-test series in Bangladesh in June.

England’s tour of Sri Lanka too was postponed. England’s series against West Indies and Pakistan in June-july too will be affected.

“The FTP will have to be revisited as members start to understand what can be rescheduled and what can’t,” a source close to the developments said.

The postponements have left the WTC cycle in tatters. With India and Australia well placed on the table, they may make a case for extending the cycle beyond June 2021 rather than scrapping the championship.

When scramble to book alternate slots in a post-pandemic world begins, BCCI needs to find a window for the IPL. India would want the 11 home games (3 T20s, 3 ODIS, 5 Tests) against England in 20-21 to happen given the board’s high-value media rights deal.

There are questions on the T20 World Cup in Australia in October-november. With India to host another T20 World Cup in 2021, the ICC is looking at multiple scenarios. “...given the evolving situation, we are also undertaking a comprehensive contingency planning exercise... We will continue to take advice from experts and authorities, including the Australian government, and take decisions at the appropriate time,” an ICC spokesman said.