A few days back, ICC announced the dates of their three marquee events in the next three years. The global body postponed the T20 World Cup 2020 to next year due to COVID-19 pandemic.
This meant the T20 World Cup 2021 was also delayed by a year and is now going to be held in India in 2022. Meanwhile, ICC also took one significant decision pertaining to the 2023 ODI World Cup. ICC chose to postpone the event which will be played in India by around 8 months.
ICC postponed ICC World Cup 2023 on PCB’s request
The World Cup which was originally going to be held from 9 February to 26 March will now be played during October-November in 2023. According to reports, ICC took this decision at the request of Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chief Ehsan Mani.
PCB wanted ICC to defer the World Cup in order to have a proper window for the Pakistan Super League (PSL). Since the last five years, the T20 league of Pakistan takes place during the months of February-March.
“This means that now the international window in Feb-March is free for the next three years. That’s the window PCB had always chosen to hold the PSL”, a source told The News, Pakistan.
“The PCB chairman garnered support from various ICC Board members to ensure that there is a proper window available for the PSL on the international calendar.”
“The Board may not be on the brink of bankruptcy but it is going to face the crunch unless it manages substantial media and commercial rights deals. The fact that PSL has a window available for 2021, 2022 and 2023 editions means that PCB is now in a much better position to sell the right,” the source added.
Incidentally, PCB earns substantial money every year from the PSL in which various foreign cricketers also feature. This year the playoffs matches of the league were postponed due to rise of COVID-19 pandemic.
Meanwhile, after the official announcement of the T20 World Cup being postponed this year, it has created a window for the Indian Premier League. The T20 league is all set to take place during September-November later this year in UAE.
