Cricket Australia boss says Twenty20 World Cup schedule under 'very high risk'

Cricket Australia boss Kevin Roberts downplays the prospect of the Twenty20 World Cup going ahead in 2020.

VIDEO SHOWS: CRICKET AUSTRALIA CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER KEVIN ROBERTS DURING VIRTUAL NEWS CONFERENCE, SOUNDBITES FROM ROBERTS SHOWS: MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA (MAY 29, 2020) (AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION - Broadcasters: NO USE AUSTRALIA Digital: NO USE AUSTRALIA .COM.AU INTERNET SITES / ANY INTERNET SITE OF ANY AUSTRALIAN BASED MEDIA ORGANISATIONS OR MOBILE PLATFORMS / AUSTRALIAN NVO CLIENTS / SMH.COM.AU / NEWS.COM.AU) 1.

CRICKET AUSTRALIA CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER KEVIN ROBERTS DURING VIRTUAL NEWS CONFERENCE 2.

WHITE FLASH 3.

(SOUNDBITE) (English) CRICKET AUSTRALIA CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER, KEVIN ROBERTS, SAYING: "Obviously we've been hopeful all along that it could be staged in October-November but you would have to say there's a very high risk about the prospect of that happening.

In the event that doesn't happen, there are other potential windows in the February-March period, October-November the following year.

And there's implications here for ICC events over a number of years.

So a lot of complexity for the ICC to deal with.

They need to be thinking about when to stage the men's T20 world cup that's planned for Australia, there's another one planned in India a year later and then in 2023 there's the men's cricket world cup in India as well." 4.

WHITE FLASH 5.

(SOUNDBITE) (English) CRICKET AUSTRALIA CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER, KEVIN ROBERTS, SAYING: "Well there's a lot of variables to be considered in the meantime.

At the moment, there's still a T20 world calendar for October, November.

And so the question of IPL no doubt will be addressed when a decision is made around the T20 World Cup, that's the key influencing factor there.

We're really pleased and committed to our partnership with the BCCI.

Working really well with the BCCI in the interests of cricket in both of our nations, but also internationally.

So that bridge will be crossed when we come to it.

It would be great to see all of the major tournaments delivered in some shape or form, whether that's IPL, T20 world cup, India series in Australia, England are also due to tour India after a test series early next calendar year.

It would be great to see all of those tournaments and series delivered in some shape or form, but time will tell what can happen then." 6.

WHITE FLASH 7.

ROBERTS DURING VIRTUAL NEWS CONFERENCE STORY: Cricket Australia boss Kevin Roberts has downplayed the prospect of the Twenty20 World Cup going ahead in 2020, saying on Friday (May 29) the October-November schedule was under "very high risk" due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Speaking to reporters on a video call, Roberts said Cricket Australia was looking at other potential windows to host the tournament in the event it does not go ahead in October.

The International Cricket Council, the sport's world governing body, has the final say over whether the Oct.

18-Nov.

15 event will go ahead.

On Thursday (May 28), the ICC deferred decisions over the tournament until its next board meeting on June 10.

India's cricket board (BCCI), which is set to host the following edition of the tournament in 2021, is keeping a close eye on developments as a postponement could open up a window for the Indian Premier League.

The lucrative franchise-based tournament, which was supposed to start at the end of March, had to be postponed indefinitely due to the pandemic and the BCCI faces a $530 million dip in revenue if the competition fails to go ahead.

The IPL's move to an October-November slot could impact Australia's scheduled T20 series with West Indies (Oct.

4-9) and India (Oct.

11-17) confirmed on Thursday, with a number of Australian internationals contracted to IPL teams. (Production: James Redmayne)