Men's T20 World Cup postponed due to Covid-19 pandemic

The tournament had been due to take place between October and November in Australia

The Men’s T20 World Cup, scheduled in Australia for October and November, has been postponed as a result of the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.

The next Men’s T20 World Cup will now take place in 2021 between October and November, with the final on November 14.

As a result of the postponement of this year’s competition, there will be an additional tournament held in October and November in 2022, with a final on November 13.

The 50-over Men’s World Cup will still be held in India as scheduled in 2023, but it has been moved to be played during October and November.

According to the ICC, these decisions have been made in order to allow for as much bilateral cricket as possible as the sport attempts to catch up and reschedule series on the back of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Next year’s Women’s World Cup, which is due to be played in New Zealand in February, is still set to go ahead as planned, but the global situation continues to be monitored.

ICC chief executive Manu Sawhney said: “We have undertaken a comprehensive and complex contingency planning exercise and through this process, our number one priority has been to protect the health and safety of everyone involved in the sport.

“The decision to postpone the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup was taken after careful consideration of all of the options available to us and gives us the best possible opportunity of delivering two safe and successful T20 World Cups for fans around the world.

“Our members now have the clarity they need around event windows to enable them to reschedule lost bilateral and domestic cricket.

“Moving the Men’s Cricket World Cup to a later window is a critical element of this and gives us a better chance of maintaining the integrity of the qualification process. This additional time will be used to reschedule games that might be lost because of the pandemic ensuring qualification can be decided on the field of play.

“Throughout this process we have worked closely with our key stakeholders including governments, members, broadcasters, partners and medical experts to enable us to reach a collective decision for the good of the game and our fans. I would like to thank everyone involved for their commitment to a safe return to cricket.”

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