Domestic cricket leagues and international bilateral series were postponed one by one after the global lockdown was announced in March 2020. It was possible to adjust the schedule of domestic leagues, but changing the international cricket fixtures was extremely difficult. A significant number of Test championship matches were suspended due to the Coronavirus. The schedules for the two T20 World Cups were deferred by one year towards the end of the year. The timetable for the 2023 ICC Cricket World Cup has also been changed. How the COVID-19 Pandemic has changed ICC’s cricket schedule is discussed in this article.
Major cricket tournaments, postponed by ICC
International cricket fixtures have been suspended indefinitely since March of last year due to the sudden outbreak of novel coronavirus. The majority of them were Test championship matches.
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Meanwhile, there was hope at first on arranging the twenty20 world cup, but the 2020 T20 World Cup in Australia was later canceled due to covid-19 spread.
The ICC announced in July 2020 that the T20 World Cups in 2020 and 2021 have been deferred by one year due to epidemics. As a result, the 2020 tournament will take place in India in November 2021, while Australia will host the 2021 tournament in October 2022.
In addition, India will host the Cricket World Cup in 2023 in November, eight months later than initially planned. The ICC has suspended the 2021 Women's Cricket World Cup and its qualifying round by one year due to the epidemic.
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Impact of Covid-19 Pandemic upon the notable cricket fixtures
Many domestic and international cricket matches were suspended due to the epidemic. So, only the most significant cricket schedules are highlighted here.
February 11, 2021
· Ireland Test team tour of Zimbabwe suspended due to the increase in coronavirus infections.
February 4, 2021
· Bangladesh national cricket team tour of New Zealand for limited over series rescheduled for a week.
February 2, 2021
· Australia postponed its scheduled tour of South Africa because of the growing concern about the Covid-19 outbreak.
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December 7, 2020
· England tour of South Africa suspended due to the pandemic coronavirus panic.
August 8, 2020
· The twenty20 series between Zimbabwe v Afghanistan was called off.
August 7, 2020
· England tour of India deferred for 2021.
July 9, 2020
· Asia Cup tournament deferred for 2021.
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June 30, 2020
· Zimbabwe-Australia 3-match ODI series postponed.
June 24, 2020
· Bangladesh Test team tour of Sri Lanka postponed due to epidemic covid-19.
June 23, 2020
· New Zealand tour of Bangladesh postponed
June 12, 2020
· India postponed their tour to Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe.
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May 28, 2020
· ECB suspended their all domestic competitions until August 1.
April 30, 2020
· ECB suspended the inaugural edition of ‘The Hundred’ until 2021.
April 22, 2020
· Pakistan's tour of Netherlands suspended due to the pandemic covid-19.
March 21, 2020
· The ODI series between Bangladesh and Ireland in England postponed.
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March 19, 2020
· BCB suspended Dhaka Premier League (DPL) until mid-April.
March 18, 2020
· European Cricket Association postponed their cricket League.
March 16, 2020
· BCB postponed the third phase of Pakistan tour.
· CSA suspended their all cricket tournaments.
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March 14, 2020
· The rest of the ongoing Australia v New Zealand series canceled.
· The Windies Cricket postponed their all regional cricket for a month.
March 13, 2020
· India v South Africa series, England vs Sri Lanka series, Netherlands vs Namibia series all have postponed due to the covid-19 outbreak.
· IPL 2020 deferred for a month.
March 11, 2020
· The much anticipated Bangabandhu T20 Cup between World XI v Asia XI postponed amid the coronavirus outbreak.
Bottom Line
Countries were forced to postpone international cricket fixtures because of the covid-19 pandemic, and no international matches were held for four months. As a result, cricket's top governing body had to cancel a notable number of international series. The teams could not play several ICC Test Championship series as the matches were not held on time. The championship would have been much more exciting if all of the games were played according to the full schedule. The top two teams in the points table, India and New Zealand will compete in the ICC Test Championship final in June.
In addition, the way COVID-19 Pandemic has changed ICC’s cricket schedule, the teams will be required to play nonstop international cricket for the next two years.
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