ICC's Cricket Committee Likely To Announce Final Decision Over Staging Of 2020 T20 World Cup Tomorrow

As per sources tracking this development closely, there are five items which will be on the top of the agenda in the meeting. They are -- decision on T20 World Cup, election process for ICC chairman, scheduling of the Future Tours Programme, tax issues with BCCI and ICC CEO's submission of the report on confidentiality issue.

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New Delhi: The International Cricket Council's Cricket Committee which is slated to hold a virtual meeting on Wednesday would be keen to put an end to the long standing blurry picture surrounding the staging of the 2020 T20 World Cup, slated to be held in Australia later this year. The apex global cricket body will also sort the nomination process for its next chairman after it had announced earlier that the incumbent chairman Shashank Manohar will not seek an extension of his term. As per sources tracking this development closely, there are five items which will be on the top of the agenda in the meeting. They are -- decision on T20 World Cup, election process for ICC chairman, scheduling of the Future Tours Programme, tax issues with BCCI and ICC CEO's submission of the report on confidentiality issue. The last ICC board meet which was keenly tracked and followed with a lot of hope over what future lies for the ICC T20 World Cup ended in a damp squib with classified information leaks taking precedence over the agenda. The ICC board members would expect some concrete decisions to clear the dark clouds which loom large over this year's T20 World Cup Down Under. Window For IPL If World T20 Is Postponed From Original Schedule There are growing speculations over if the ICC decides to postpone the blue riband event to next year, would the BCCI push their hosting to 2022 and give Cricket Australia the rights to hold the flagship event next year. "Let ICC first announce what they intend to do with this year's World T20. There has been no formal announcement with regards to this year's edition," BCCI treasurer Arun Dhumal told PTI. "Either India hold their edition as per schedule in 2021 with Australia organizing theirs in 2022 or vice versa. In any case, a decision needs to be taken considering the members will need to plan their bilateral engagements," a senior official privy to ICC board room politics said on conditions of anonymity. The other aspect will be broadcaster, Star India, which has invested heavily in both the IPL as well as ICC events. "Star is a stakeholder. Their opinion will also matter," the official said. There is also a lot of talk over the October-November window for the T20 World cup being considered by the BCCI for staging the IPL if the ICC announces a postponement or cancellation. Front-runner for Next Chairman While England and Wales Cricket Board's Colin Graves was to be a unanimous choice at least a month back and still remains the favourite, BCCI president Sourav Ganguly and PCB chairman Ehsan Mani's names doing rounds for the hot seat has made things interesting. The BCCI is, however, yet to formally decide whether Ganguly will throw his hat in the ring. "What's the hurry? They will first announce election process and there will be a time-frame. We will decide in due course of time," Dhumal said when asked if the board has taken any decision.