Michael Hussey feels it will be very difficult to organize T20 World Cup in India

Tags: T20 World Cup, India, Michael Edward Killeen Hussey

Published on: May 20, 2021

Former Australia batsman Michael Hussey feels that the chances of India hosting the T20 World Cup this year appear very grim. India is battling a massive second wave of COVID-19 and is scheduled to hold the T20 World Cup in October-November.

According to Hussey, who was in India for IPL 2021 as Chennai Super Kings’ (CSK) batting coach, teams will not be confident of coming to India later in the year. The BCCI was forced to halt IPL 2021 earlier this month after COVID-19 cases emerged in the bio-bubble. Hussey was among those who contracted the virus.

Speaking to Fox Cricket after returning to Australia, Hussey weighed in on India’s chances of hosting the T20 World Cup. He stated, "I think it's going to be very difficult in my view to play T20 World Cup in India. We're talking about eight teams in the IPL. I think there are probably a similar number, maybe more teams coming in from overseas for the T20 World Cup, there'd be more venues. If they're playing in different cities, that is when the risk goes up."

Hussey felt that it would make sense to shift the tournament to an alternative venue like the UAE or some other nation. The former cricketer explained, "I think they'll have to look some pretty big contingency plans, perhaps looking at the UAE or somewhere like that that could host the World T20. I think there will be a lot of cricket boards around the world that'd be pretty nervous about going back to India for a cricket tournament."

Meanwhile, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has called for a Special General Meeting (SGM) on May 29 to discuss the organization of the T20 World Cup amid the scary COVID-19 situation in India. The SGM will be held virtually and will mainly focus on the T20 World Cup in India. The ICC will also meet on June 1 to discuss the same.

Sources were quoted as telling ANI about the BCCI SGM, "The ICC will have the meeting on June 1 and before that, we will have our own meeting on May 29 to discuss the COVID-19 situation and what all measures need to be taken with an eye on the T20 World Cup which is slated to be held in India in October-November."

Earlier, the BCCI chose nine venues for the T20 World Cup -- Ahmedabad, Mumbai, Kolkata, New Delhi, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Chennai, Dharamsala, and Lucknow.

--By A Cricket Correspondent

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