The International Cricket Council (ICC) Board has prorogued all the major decisions to be taken, including deciding the fate of the T20 World Cup in Australia owing to the COVID19 pandemic, at least till June 10.
“The ICC Board met via teleconference today with all agenda items deferred until 10 June 2020 following a discussion, led by Chairman Shashank Manohar, around the issue of confidentiality,” read a statement issued by the ICC on Thursday.
“...The Board also requested the ICC management continue with their discussions with stakeholders in exploring various contingency options in light of the rapidly changing public health situation caused by the COVID19 virus.”
READ | Cricket Australia releases dates for India series, indicates T20 World Cup on schedule
Despite not even making a mention of the marquee event, scheduled to be played in Australia from October 18 to November 15, the fact that the statement stressed on continuing discussions indicates that the T20 World Cup is far from being postponed or called off.
Cricket Australia has also stuck to the prior FTP schedule while announcing the itinerary for its home summer. India’s tour to Australia - as per the original FTP - has been divided into two parts: T20I series pre-T20 World Cup and Test and ODI series to be played after the global event.
Besides the T20 World Cup, the meeting was supposed to finalise the election process for appointing Manohar’s successor as ICC chair and to decide the issue of Board of Control for Cricket in India’s (BCCI’s) inability to procure tax exemption from the government for the next year’s T20 World Cup.
Sportstar understands that much of the discussion during Thursday’s meeting surrounded over some of the internal communication between ICC and its member boards being “leaked” to the media.
BCCI president Sourav Ganguly, based on a media report, is understood to have objected to BCCI being kept in the dark over communication between Cricket Australia and a few other member boards over likely postponement of T20 World Cup.
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Besides, over the last week, there have been media reports about the ICC Ethics Officer dismissing Manohar’s complain of unethical practices adopted by former England and Wales Cricket Board chief Colin Graves (an aspirant for ICC chief’s post) while granting a loan to Cricket West Indies; and the standoff between BCCI and ICC over tax exemptions for ICC events.
“A number of Board members had raised their concerns over this issue recently and felt it required immediate attention to ensure the sanctity and confidentiality of Board matters in line with the highest standards of governance,” the statement read.
“There was unanimous agreement to immediately initiate an independent investigation led by the ICC’s Ethics Officer and supported by global experts. The Board will be updated on this by the ICC CEO at its next meeting.”
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