The Women's T20 Challenge is likely to be postponed amid the rising cases of COVID-19 in the country and the potential unavailability of overseas players due to travel restrictions.
Even though the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) hasn't made an official announcement, sources in the know have confirmed that it would be a logistical challenge to fly in overseas cricketers from England, Australia, West Indies, New Zealand and South Africa. "With various countries imposing travel restrictions to India, it definitely looks impossible for now to fly in the players. So at this point, things look difficult," the source said.
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Earlier, the Board had planned to host the tournament in Delhi. When asked, Delhi and District Cricket Association (DDCA) officials confirmed to Sportstar on Tuesday that they have not heard anything about the tournament so far.
The Women's T20 Challenge usually happens during the playoff stage of the Indian Premier League, but this time, with the country witnessing a surge in cases, quite a few overseas players has pulled out of the IPL and at this point in time, the BCCI officials agree that it looks 'highly unlikely' that the women's tournament can be held now. While UK has put India on its travel red list, Australia has suspended all direct flights from India for a couple of weeks. Even the UAE has put restrictions, making things difficult.
Last year, the Women's T20 Challenge was held in Sharjah, but the Australian players and some England players did not feature as the tournament clashed with the women's Big Bash League. Top players like Danielle Wyatt, Sune Luus, Chamari Attapattu, Deandra Dottin, however, featured in the tournament. The tournament started in 2018 and received huge response over the last few years.
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