Reports | ICC members to hold video conference on Friday to discuss contingency plans

Desperate times require desperate measures and in the wake of the ongoing crisis, that is being widely described as the worst planet earth has witnessed since World War II, member nations of the International Cricket Council (ICC) are expected to be involved in a conference call on Friday, March 27. The agenda of the meeting looks set to be simple - assess the situation and discuss what could be done in case the situation worsens in the months to come.

With multiple bilateral series’ which are part of the World Test Championship (WTC) getting postponed and with the World T20 set to be played in October, the ICC could be left in an extremely tedious situation should sporting action remain dormant in the months to come. However, the meeting is expected to be nothing more than a discussion and no decisions are expected to be taken, as confirmed by an ICC administrator.

"It's more about an update on contingency planning at this stage. In case of an extreme situation, there should be plan B and C ready. So we board members need to understand the options available," the source told Times of India.

"Obviously, the situation currently is very serious and COVID-19 and its implications is on agenda. But if you think logically, World T20 is in October and final of World Test Championship is in June, 2021. So we have time and no point in taking any decision in haste. No decisions expected on Friday. It's more of a stock taking," he added.

England vs Sri Lanka and Pakistan vs Bangladesh, both of which are a part of the Test championship, have already been postponed, whilst Australia’s tour of Bangladesh, that is originally scheduled for June, is also expected to be pushed to a later date. With the olympics getting pushed, should the situation worsen, there might very well be a case for the ICC to postpone the World T20, scheduled to kick off on October 18.