Cricket in 2020 under shadow of Coronavirus: Bio bubble, IPL, ICC awards, highlights

From ICC Awards of the Decade and India’s Test win at the MCG to MS Dhoni’s international retirement and the postponement of men’s T20 World Cup, Sportstar takes a look at the key cricketing events in 2020.

Published : Dec 30, 2020 12:30 IST

Virat Kohli, Steve Smith and Ellyse Perry dominated ICC's Awards of the Decade.
Virat Kohli, Steve Smith and Ellyse Perry dominated ICC's Awards of the Decade.
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Virat Kohli, Steve Smith and Ellyse Perry dominated ICC's Awards of the Decade.

Steve Smith was named the ICC Men's Test Cricketer of the Decade, while India captain Virat Kohli received the Sir Garfield Sobers Award for ICC Male Cricketer of the Decade and the men's ODI Cricketer of the Decade award. Ellyse Perry won the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Award for ICC Female Cricketer of the Decade, while also claiming both the ODI and T20I Cricketer of the Decade honours.

From ICC Awards of the Decade and India’s Test win at the MCG to MS Dhoni’s international retirement and the postponement of men’s T20 World Cup, Sportstar takes a look at the key cricketing events in 2020.

 

February 9

Bangladesh won the ICC Under-19 World Cup, beating India in the final in Potchefstroom, South Africa. It was Bangladesh's maiden World Cup win at any level and sent its fans into raptures.

March 8

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Australia beat India in the final to win the ICC Women's T20 World Cup in March 2020.
 

Australia emerged victorious at the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup, beating India in the final. The match, played on International Women’s Day, was watched by 86,174 people at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. It was a maiden T20 World Cup final for the Harmanpreet Kaur-led India.

April 15

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) formally informed the eight Indian Premier League (IPL) franchises that the 13th edition of the T20 league had been “indefinitely postponed” due to COVID-19.

April 30

The first season of the Hundred has been pushed back to 2021 following an ECB board meeting. In a media release, the ECB said that a number of reasons led to the decision, including "operational challenges caused by social distancing, alongside global travel restrictions, making the competition's ambition to feature world-class players and coaches unattainable in 2020".

June 24

Clare Connor, the former England captain, will become the first woman president of Marylebone Cricket Club in 2021.

July 8-28

England beat West Indies 2-1 in the Test series at home. The opening day of the series in Southampton marked Test cricket’s return after a  129-day hiatus because of the coronavirus pandemic. It was also the time when the Black Lives Matter movement started gaining ground.

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West Indies take the knee in support of the Black Lives Matter movement during day one of the Third Test at Emirates Old Trafford, Manchester.
 

July 20

The T20 World Cup, scheduled to be played in Australia in October-November of 2020, was formally postponed to 2022. Besides deferring the T20 World Cup, the ICC also shifted the 2023 Men's World Cup from the February-March window to October-November that year.

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July 24

The BCCI decided to hold the Indian Premier League (IPL) from September 19 to November 10 in the United Arab Emirates.

August 15

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MS Dhoni retired from international cricket in 2020.
 

Former India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni announced his retirement from international cricket. “Thanks. Thanks a lot for ur love and support throughout. From 19.29 hrs consider me as Retired,” wrote Dhoni on his official Instagram handle.

The 39-year-old’s last outing in India colours was the 2019 World Cup semifinal against New Zealand. Minutes after Dhoni's announcement, Suresh Raina, one of India’s prolific white-ball players, also quit international cricket.

August 25

England's James Anderson became the first seamer to claim 600 Test wickets. He achieved the landmark with the wicket of Azhar Ali on the final afternoon of the third Test in Southampton.

August 29

Chennai Super Kings' Suresh Raina and Harbhajan Singh pulled out of IPL 2020 for "personal reasons". Earlier, at least 10 members of the CSK contingent tested positive for Covid-19 in Dubai including India fast bowler Deepak Chahar. 

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September 13

Fast bowler S. Sreesanth's ban - initially a life ban - had been revised to seven years in 2019 and officially ended in September this year. He was subsequently named in Kerala's 26-strong probables' list for next season's Syed Mushtaq Ali trophy.

November 10

Mumbai Indians beat Delhi Capitals in the final in Dubai to win a record fifth Indian Premier League (IPL) title. Mumbai became the first team after Chennai Super Kings to defend the title.

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Mumbai Indians beat Delhi Capitals to win a record fifth IPL title in the UAE last month.
 

November 17

Babar Azam struck an unbeaten half-century as Karachi Kings beat Lahore Qalandars by five wickets in the final to win its maiden Pakistan Super League title. 

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December 6

England's South Africa tour was called off after a Covid-19 outbreak among both teams' camps and staff at their hotel.

December 19

Josh Hazlewood took five for eight as Australia bundled out India for its lowest innings score in 88 years of Test cricket, dismissing the tourist for 36 at the start of day three of the day-night first Test in Adelaide.

December 24

The BCCI approved a 10-team IPL from 2022 at its Annual General Meeting (AGM) in Ahmedabad. Among other key developments, Chetan Sharma was appointed as the chairman of the selection committee, while Abey Kuruvilla and Debasish Mohanty were the other members in the panel. The trio will join the pair of Sunil Joshi and Harvinder Singh.

ALSO READ |

December 29

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Ajinkya Rahane led India to a series-levelling win in Melbourne.
 

Ajinkya Rahane's 12th Test hundred coupled with an all-round bowling performance powered India to a series-levelling eight-wicket win against Australia at the MCG. Needing a modest 70 to win, Shubman Gill (35 not out) and skipper Rahane (27 not out) got India over the line in 15.5 overs.

December 30

New Zealand's bowlers produced a late final session surge to guide their side to a tense 101-run victory over Pakistan in the first Test in Mount Maunganui and kept alive their hopes of reaching next year's World Test Championship final.

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