Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chief Ehsan Mani has said he does not expect the ICC T20 World Cup to be staged in Australia this year due to the coronavirus pandemic. The former ICC Chairman's comments have come a day after Cricket Australia's chairman Earl Eddings termed the idea of hosting the T20 World Cup 'unrealistic'. While the ICC is yet to make any announcement on the fate of the T20 World Cup which is scheduled to be played in October-November, Eddings and Mani - two sitting members of the cricket governing body - don't expect the event to happen this year owing to the Covid-19 pandemic, with the latter mentioning that it is too risky to stage the tournament which involves 16 teams.
"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. God forbid if some player 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," said Mani, who also heads the ICC's Finance and Commercial Rights Committee. Mani expects an announcement from the ICC regarding the T20 World Cup sometime "in the next three-four weeks" after considering all the stakeholders involved in the game. If the T20 World Cup is cancelled the BCCI is likely to occupy the window for a mini IPL. The cancellation of T20 World Cup can also open up a window from Indian Premier League this year
