Crowds the biggest hurdle in front of T20 World Cup: Australia's Sports Minister
May 04, 2020
Melbourne [Australia], May 4 : Australia's Sports Minister Richard Colbeck believes that managing crowds will be the biggest hurdle in front of the T20 World Cup later this year.
The T20 World Cup is slated to be held in Australia in October-November this year.
Currently, all sporting action across the world has come to a halt due to the coronavirus pandemic, and the future of the Men's T20 World Cup also hangs in the balance.
"The issue for the World Cup is not so much the teams as the crowds and that's probably one of the hurdles we really have to consider and probably one that world cricket will look at pretty closely as well," ESPNCricinfo quoted Colbeck as saying on the radio station SEN.
"We all know the difference in atmosphere when you see a filled stadium versus one that's empty... they will be some of the broader considerations, but in a team, since I'd like to think that we can build some protocols with the cooperation of the sport and the players, that's going to be extremely important, with appropriate quarantine and biosecurity protocols to see if we can make the competition go ahead," he added.
Earlier, the International Cricket Council (ICC) Chief Executive Manu Sawhney had said that the elite body will be consulting the Australian government on going ahead with the Men's T20 World Cup 2020 in Australia.
The limited-overs World Cup is slated to be played from October 18- November 15 at seven venues across Australia.
"In relation to ICC events, including the ICC Men's T20 World Cup, we will continue to take advice from experts and authorities, including the Australian government. We will utilise all of the data and information available to us to ensure we can take responsible decisions around all competitions at an appropriate time that are in the best interests of our sport," Sawhney had said in a statement.
Right now, no sport is being played as all top tournaments like IPL, Premier League, LA Liga have been suspended and there is no certain answer as to when the coronavirus crisis will subside.
