'Neither BCCI nor ICC:' Shoaib Akhtar puts onus of deciding T20 WC fate on Australian govt

Amid the looming uncertainty over the upcoming ICC T20 World Cup, former Pakistan cricketer Shoaib Akhtar has now put the onus on the Australian government to decide the fate of the tournament. The former speedster has remarked that neither the Australian Cricket board nor the ICC or the BCCI can do anything about the prestigious tournament. Owing to the Coronavirus outbreak and consequent restriction, the Indian Premier League had also been postponed indefinitely. The T20 World Cup is expected to be held between October-November later this year in Australia. 

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Speaking to a news daily on Wednesday, Akhtar stated that the decision for the T20 World Cup will come from the Australian government, adding that their policies will decide the fate of the tournament. Furthermore, he exuded confidence in the Australian government and stated that for them the health of their people is first without paying heed to other forces. 

Earlier last week, Cricket Australia CEO Kevin Roberts while announcing the summer schedule of the Kangaroos stated that the T20 World Cup is under high risk at the moment. However, he remarked that there are potential windows for the tournament to be held in February-March and October-November in 2021. 

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ICC defers decision on T20 WC

ICC on Thursday neither postponed nor taken any call on staging or deferring the T20 World Cup to be held in Australia in October this year. Following a long 4 hour meeting, ICC deferred all the listed agenda, including the all-important decision to stage or postpone World Cup T20, to its next Board meeting on June 10. The decision to defer the agenda was taken following a discussion led by Chairman Shashank Manohar with other Board members via teleconference around the issue of confidentiality.

According to an ICC release, 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.

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