Dubai: Kumar Sangakkara, Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) President and a member of the Cricket Committee of the International Cricket Council (ICC), recommended a cancellation of the 20 World Cup in Australia later this year.
While the ICC deferred a decision on the showpiece till their next meeting on June 10, all indications are the governing body are working towards it and re-schedule it in a suitable window in 2022 in view of the coronavirus pandemic.
Speaking on Star Sports, the former Sri Lanka captain said: “The real thing is what’s going to happen with the virus. Is it going to disappear like SARS and MERS, or is this something that’s going to come back seasonally? Will we have to live with this particular virus or different strains of it from time to time or do we have to live with it long term?
“If that’s the case, then some of the changes that we have seen in our lives now, may be the new normal for us for a few years until a vaccine is found or until there’s enough immunity globally among the people to withstand this. So, those are really questions that I don’t think anyone can answer at the moment.
“We will get more clarity as time goes by. So, I can imagine sitting around a table for the ICC, trying to understand, consulting with experts to understand what’s going on. And more so, the questions that a lot of us have in our minds have still not been answered by the top most experts in the world.
“Everyday, there are new learnings, new things being found out, so we will have to wait and see, but the options may be to cancel it this year, postpone it to another year but to have in place anticipatory procedures that take into account health and safety of both the players and the spectators, and make sure that’s iron clad.”
