Australia opener David Warner isn’t optimistic of the T20 World Cup going ahead as planned in October later this year, believing that in the current scenario, when the world is grappling with the COVID-19 pandemic, it will be tough to get all teams scheduled for the ICC event on board.
The fate of the T20 World Cup was a topic touched upon during the ICC’s meeting with authorities of different cricket boards. With travel restrictions imposed by governments of different countries, the future of the T20 World Cup is shrouded in uncertainty, with Warner almost certain that the event as is good as gone.
“The ICC World Cup will not go ahead here by the looks of it. It will be difficult to get everyone (16 teams) together,” said Warner in an Instagram live session with India batsman Rohit Sharma.
Rohit and Warner are to come face to face later this year when India tours Australia for a tri-series before the T20 World Cup followed by a four-Test series. The last time India toured Down Under, they created history by securing a series win in Australia for the first time in seven decades. Warner, who along with Steve, had to miss the series due to their suspension, revealed it was hard watching Australia go down at home.
“Watching that series was hard as you can’t do anything from the outside. But I want to say that India has the best pace attack against left-handers. They zero in one spot and keep bowling there. “Mentally, it was great for Indian cricket but it was hard to watch. I felt helpless. Hope it does happen and looking forward to the battle,” said Warner.
{{/usCountry}}“Watching that series was hard as you can’t do anything from the outside. But I want to say that India has the best pace attack against left-handers. They zero in one spot and keep bowling there. “Mentally, it was great for Indian cricket but it was hard to watch. I felt helpless. Hope it does happen and looking forward to the battle,” said Warner.
{{/usCountry}}Before the pandemic suspended cricket all around the globe, Warner was part of the last international match that took place – the first ODI between Australia and New Zealand which was played at an empty Sydney Cricket Ground. Calling the experience of playing without crowd surreal, Warner said the match felt like a practice game.
“It was a bizarre experience. You could only hear echo of cricket ball. It was bizarre. We are used to calling ‘yes and no’ while running between wickets but we did not need to do that. It was literally like playing a warm-up game. It was surreal. I don’t know for how long you can sustain that. You gain your momentum from home crowd,” he explained.