Postponing T20 World Cup To Next Year Is Also One Option: Kumar Sangakkara

The coronavirus pandemic has affected the sporting events across globe and cricket is not an exception either. The global pandemic has led to the postponement of several multi-nation events like Tokyo Olympics and Euro 2021, and has cast a spell of uncertainty on big cricket tournaments like Twenty20 World Cup and Indian Premier League (IPL). Former Sri Lanka skipper Kumar Sangakkara, who is also the president of the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC), feels that it is hard to predict the future of major tournament like T20 World Cup as there are many questions which no body has found answers to thus far. However, he did add that the International Cricket Council (ICC) will consider all possible options, including the postponement of T20 World Cup, scheduled in Australia later this year.

"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," said Sangakkara, speaking on Star Sports talk show 'Cricket Connected'.

Wondering what the future holds for ?

Join @robbieuthappa & @jatinsapru tonight on #CricketConnected, as @KumarSanga2 tackles the BIG question! pic.twitter.com/7XMH3hJ0B9

— Star Sports (@StarSportsIndia) May 30, 2020

When asked what changes the game will witness due to coronavirus, Sangakkara said it all depends on how happens to the virus in the future whether we will get rid of it permanently or will have to live with it for the rest of our lives. 

"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?," said the Sri Lankan great.

The left-handed batsman also said that there is also a possibility that some of the changes which we have witnessed now will become a new normal for the humankind.

"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," he said.

"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," he added.

Topics mentioned in this article

Kumar Sangakkara International Cricket Council Cricket ICC T20 World Cup 2021