Biggest challenge is getting 15 teams into the country: Hockley on T20 WC

Sydney, June 20 (IANS) Cricket Australias interim CEO Nick Hockley has made it clear that if the borders are opened and teams can enter the country to play the T20 World Cup, then fans too will be allowed the watch the matches live. This comes as a major boost for cricket fans across the globe.

“The reality is, and we’ve got much more understanding about this in recent weeks, is crowds are most likely to come back before international travel. Our biggest challenge is getting 15 teams into the country,” Hockley told cricket.com.au when asked about the situation with regards to fans.

“If I compare it with the prospect of a bilateral tour, you’re talking about bringing one team in and then playing individual matches. But the prospect of bringing 15 teams in and having six or seven teams in one city at the same time, it’s a much more complex exercise.”

In fact, Pakistan Cricket Board chief Ehsan Mani also spoke on the same lines recently when he spoke about the difficulties that come with creating a bio-secure environment for a multi-nation event.

“We have had a lot of discussions and the feeling is it (T20 World Cup) would not be possible this year. ICC has World Cups lined up in 2021 and 2023, so we have a gap year where we can adjust this event,” Mani, who also heads the International Cricket Council’s (ICC) Finance and Commercial Rights Committee, told reporters on Wednesday.

The tournament is scheduled to be held from October 18 to November 15 but has been shrouded in doubt due to the spread of the coronavirus pandemic.

“God forbid if some player(s) falls ill or mishap occurs during the tournament, it will have a big impact and create panic in the cricket world and we can’t take that risk. Having a bio-bubble environment is feasible for say a bilateral series like Pakistan in England, but it is very difficult when 16 teams are involved,” he said.

–IANS

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