ICC’s interim CEO Geoff Allerdis said on Wednesday that the body has backup plans for the T20 World Cup to be held in India later this year but is currently in a position to move it out of the country despite a surge in COVID-19 cases Neither is entertaining the idea. The tournament is scheduled to be held in October-November in India, which has been reporting over one lakh cases since last few days. Amid the COVID rise, the IPL is scheduled to begin in Chennai on Friday behind closed doors. “We’re definitely going ahead with the event as planned,” Allardyce said during a virtual media round-table.
He said, “Plan B is with us, but we have not yet activated those plans. We are working with the BCCI. We have backup plans which may be activated when the time comes.”
Allcardis, the ICC general manager – cricket, was recently made interim CEO, as Manu Sawhney was sent on “leave” after his conduct came during an internal investigation by UK audit firm PricewaterhouseCoopers.
The 53-year-old Australian, who has played domestic cricket in his country, said the ICC is also in touch with other sports bodies to understand how they are managing in the COVID era.
“Cricket is currently being played in many countries and we are learning from all of them.
“We are talking with the sports bodies of others about what they are doing, we are in a good shape at the moment but accept that the world is changing rapidly.
“We are also getting the final of the World Test Championship in two months, but both of us are going according to plan,” he said.
While the UAE, which hosted the IPL last year, could be one of the backup venues for the shortest format, the situation for the biggest international event should be demanding a change. During the conversation, he was also asked about the Decision Review System (DRS), of which the controversial umpire’s call is a part, which was confused by India’s captain Virat Kohli during the limited-overs engagements against England. Allardyce said that during the recent ICC Board meeting there was “a good discussion” on DRS.
“DRS was designed to reverse apparent errors. No bulk changes have been made.
“I think that more and more when you see a replay, the natural reaction is that what we can do is … override an obvious error … we’ve got a point where we make the right decision. Using technology for, but striving for perfection. Impossible.
“We are very comfortable with where we are at the moment,” he said.
All countries faced challenges to host cricket matches and tournaments in the context of maintaining communication with their respective governments.
“The role of vaccination in different countries can change the dynamics … They have done an amazing job in hosting matches in the last 10 months.”
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She also admitted that COVID-19 influenced women’s sports. Asked if the epidemic had pushed back women’s cricket at one time after the spectacular success of the last T20 World Cup in Australia, he said, “The momentum we have built in international cricket over the last 3-4 years is is fantastic . The final (between India and Australia) (on a pack) MCG was a special moment.
“Then COVID took a hit and it made life very difficult to re-establish. That will be the focus in the next 12 months.”
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