The seventh edition of the International Cricket Council’s World Twenty20 which had been tentatively scheduled to be held in 2018 has been scrapped, according to a report by PTI on Sunday. The next edition of the tournament will be held in 2020, according to the report.
“Yes, it is true that we are skipping with World T20 edition in 2018. Look, no venue was decided. The primary reason is there are too many bilateral series happening between member nations. It was not possible to schedule the tournament in 2018,” said an unnamed source, quoted in the report. “Yes, the tournament will return in 2020. It could be South Africa or Australia. The other reason apart from the bilateral series was that with too many ICC events on the anvil, the member nations were also of the view that it needed to be spaced out,” said the source.
The previous ICC World T20s have been held in South Africa (2007), England (2009), West Indies (2010), Sri Lanka (2012), Bangladesh (2014), India (2016).
The other reason for the delay is the amount of money the cricketing nations make through the broadcasting deals when it comes to bilateral series. Especially, if India tours any nation, the host nation earns millions of dollars through their TV broadcasting rights.
The quoted source also added that the scrapping of the tournament would not affect the ICC “There are enough T20 leagues and the fans will have a lot to look forward to.”
India is set to be play three series away starting with South Africa, followed by England and Australia. The next Champions Trophy in 2021 is set to be played in India.
The main focus for the upcoming ICC Annual Conference starting on Monday will be getting the long-standing proposal for the World Test Championship. ICC has planned at least one world event across all formats.
