ICC to discuss Test championship, ODI league in executive meet on April 23

The International Cricket Council's Chief Executives Committee (CEC) will discuss the financial implications of the Covid-19 or coronavirus pandemic over a conference call on Thursday (April 23) in which the World Test Championship and the ODI league schedule will also come up for deliberation.
 
The ODI league was to start in June but first series under it -- South Africa's away three-match rubber against Sri Lanka in the first week of June -- was cancelled on Monday due to the pandemic.
 
It is clear that no concrete decision can be taken unless the ICC is able to figure out how many events they are going to lose due to the global lockdown which has brought the world to a standstill.

 

What is ICC ODI championship?

• The ICC ODI Championship is a One Day International (ODI) cricket competition governed by the International Cricket Council (ICC). The ODI championship will act as a qualification pathway for the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023, and will see the 12 Test-playing nations and the Netherlands, who gained ODI status by winning the ICC World Cricket League last year, compete against each other.
• Each side will take part in as many as eight series over a two-year period, against mutually agreed opponents on a home-and-away basis.
• The league will end on 31 March 2022, with the seven highest-ranked teams apart from India – who make the grade automatically as hosts – qualifying for the 2023 World Cup.
• The five remaining sides will fight for a chance to qualify for the tournament through the ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifier.

 "At this time CEC will discuss the collective process to consider impact of Covid-19 on the sport. The members would like to get an understanding from each other as to when cricket might restart in their respective regions and under what conditions," a CEC member said.
 

"We are almost at the halfway point of the World Test Championship, and the Super League is yet to commence so we will consider a range of options for each with our Members. But it's still some way to go before," news agency PTI quoted a senior ICC Board member.

 
The senior official, who has attended a number of ICC board meetings, made it clear that cancellation of another couple of Test series could heavily impact the WTC calendar. 

What is World Test Championship?

• The International Cricket Council (ICC) on July 30 launched the inaugural World Test Championship, setting the stage for a long tournament in red-ball cricket to determine the World Test Champion.
• The two-year affair comprises top nine Test teams namely Australia, Bangladesh, England, India, New Zealand, Pakistan, South Africa, Sri Lanka, and the West Indies.
• Each team will play three home and three away series. The top two teams at the end will compete in the ICC World Test Championship Final at the Lord's cricket ground in June 2021.
• The first Ashes Test between England and Australia at Edgbaston marked the inaugural game of the event.
• India will not play against Pakistan because each team has picked six opponents by mutual agreement, within the existing framework of the Members rights agreements. Also, the teams can play matches outside the World Test Championship during this period.
• Accordingly, the India cricket team would be playing against West Indies, South Africa, Bangladesh, New Zealand, Australia and England. India will play away series against West Indies, New Zealand and Australia.

Check World test championship points table here

"Look, we had to finish the league phase by March 2021 with final at Lord's in June, 2021. India are more secured as they don't have any cancelled series till now and their next Test series in Australia starts at end of November," the official said.
 
"But England already have lost one against Sri Lanka. Also you don't know if West Indies and Pakistan can tour England this summer," he added.
 
An option of extending the calendar for the WTC might be explored where teams get to complete their bilateral Test engagements.
 
It has also been learnt that as of now, the ICC won't tinker with the existing World T20 schedule in October-November as save 'Big Three' -- India, Australia and England-- the smaller nations might find it difficult to sustain without the event is expected to generate.

 
In case the World T20 is shifted, the revenue stream, especially cash-flow will be severely affected.
 
India will be represented at the CEC meet by secretary Jay Shah.

Here is the list of major sports tournaments that get cancelled or postponed due to coronavirus pandemic:
  

Major sports events affected by Coronavirus pandemic
Sports event	Status
Tokyo Olympics	Postponed to 2021
Cricket
India vs South Africa ODI series	Cancelled
Australia vs New Zealand (2nd and 3rd ODI)	Cancelled
Pakistan Super League	Suspended
England vs Sri Lanka Test series	Cancelled
Australia vs Bangladesh Test series	Postponed
Archery
World Cup in Shanghai	Cancelled
Badminton
China masters	Postponed
German Open	Cancelled
Asian Championships	Suspended
India Open	Suspended
Swiss Open	Suspended
Malaysian Open	Suspended
Singapore Open	Suspended
Thomas and Uber Cup finals	Postponed from May to Auguts 2020
Tennis
All AITA tournaments	Cancelled
BNP Paribas Open	Cancelled
Miami Open	Cancelled
Monte Carlo Masters	Cancelled
French Open	Postponed to Sept 20-OCt 4
Wimbledon 2020	Cancelled
Athletics
World Indoor Championships Nanjing	Postponed to March 2021
Field Hockey
India's tour of Japan (Jr Women's Asia Cup)	Postponed
FIH Pro League	Suspended till June
Basketball
NBA	Suspended
Shooting
New Delhi World Cup	postponed to May 5-12 and June 2-9
Boxing
World Cup in Germany	Cancelled
Formula one
Australian GP	Cancelled
Bahrain GP	Postponed
Vietnamese GP	Postponed
Chinese GP	Postponed
Monaco GP	Cancelled
Azerbaijan GP	Postponed
Football
Champions League	Suspended till further notice
Europa League	Suspended till further notice
EPL and FA Cup	Postponed till April 30
Euro 2020	Postponed to 2021
Copa America	postponed to 2021
Fifa U-17 Women's World Cup	Postponed