Australia’s T20I series versus Windies postponed in wake of Covid-19 pandemic

Australia’s calendar for the rest of the 2020 season, that was cut short due to the postponement of the World T20 and bilateral series’ versus Bangladesh and Zimbabwe, has further been trimmed as Cricket Australia (CA), on Tuesday, confirmed that the three-match T20I series versus the Windies, that was scheduled for October, has been indefinitely postponed. 

The Windies were scheduled to play matches in Townsville, Cairns and the Gold Coast between October 4 and 9, but the series, which was envisioned as a warm-up to the World T20, has now been pushed owing to the postponement of the Global T20 extravaganza. 

The postponement of the Windies tour means that the calendar is freed up for the Australian players to participate in the Indian Premier League, which will run from September 19th to November 10. The Aussie players will, however, most likely miss the first week of the IPL, given they will be finishing up a limited-overs tour of England that is scheduled for the first week of September. 

The cancellation of the Windies series has also increased the likelihood of the three-match T20I series versus India, that was scheduled to take place in mid-October, getting cancelled or postponed. Like the Windies series, the India series, too, was viewed as a warm-up for the World T20, but with the T20 World Cup now having been pushed and with the IPL set to run in October, all logic points towards CA pushing the T20Is against India. The BCCI, too, had earlier expressed their displeasure over the scheduling of the T20Is.