IPL will be preferred over T20 World Cup: Former Pakistan cricketer

Former Pakistan cricketer Basit Ali has claimed that the International Cricket Council (ICC) will give preference to the Indian Premier League (IPL) before deciding about the future of this year’s T20 World Cup, which is scheduled to take place in Australia.

In a brief career spanning 19 Tests, Basit scored 858 runs at an average of 26.81. While in 50 One-day Internationals (ODIs), he accumulated 1,265 runs at 34.18 with a strike-rate of 75.79. In 133 First-Class matches, Basit’s tally included 8,130 runs at 39.65 with 21 hundreds.

“Indian board generates 70 per cent revenue for ICC and everyone knows that. Whatever the Indian board will say is going to happen,” said Ali while talking in a show on a local news channel.

“Be it the Asia Cup or the T20 World Cup, IPL will be given preference, in case there is a clash, over both of these events. If IPL does not take place in India, then it’s going to be moved to Emirates [UAE],” he added.

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This year’s IPL was officially postponed until further notice because of the Covid-19 pandemic on Thursday but the Indian cricket board believes it can find a “safe” window later for the lucrative Twenty20 tournament.

Meanwhile, the ICC has played down speculation this year's T20 World Cup in Australia could be pushed back to 2021 but admitted it was "exploring all options".

Australia is due to stage the global tournament from October 18 until November 15 but the coronavirus pandemic has already created havoc for international sport and more events could suffer.

The ICC has time on its side and is preparing to stick to its schedule but plans could change.