Certain of playing IPL if T20 World Cup is postponed, admits David Warner
David Warner has stated that he is certainly willing to participate in the IPL in the occasion of the T20 World Cup getting postponed. The fate of the ICC mega event, which is originally scheduled to be held in the October-November window, will be decided by the governing council next month.
While the thirteenth season of the Indian Premier League was indefinitely postponed by the BCCI in April, its fate is yet to be decided by the board. The staging of the marquee T20 league, which was originally scheduled to begin on March 29, depends heavily on the fate of the T20 World Cup. After a board meeting, earlier this month, the ICC announced that they will de deciding on the fate of the event next month. Sunrisers Hyderabad captain David Warner admitted that he is "very sure and positive" that he and other Australian players were open to playing the IPL if the T20 World Cup is postponed, in light of the COVID-19 pandemic.
"...and if it is unlikely if the World Cup can't go ahead, then I am very sure and positive that we will be able to come and play in the IPL if that replaces the World Cup schedule. If that permits us from Cricket Australia giving the go-ahead to go over there, I am sure we will put our hands up and come and play cricket which at the end of the day is what we love,” Warner was quoted as saying by 'India Today'.
Earlier, the seasoned opening batsman had admitted that hosting the T20 World Cup would be a tough task, especially under these unprecedented circumstances, considering the number of teams involved. The same was repeated by the Cricket Australia's new chief executive Nick Hockley and Warner stressed that everyone was waiting for ICC's decision on the matter.
"Look, there has been a lot of talk about the T20 World Cup being postponed, the challenges around getting every single nation that participates in the World Cup into Australia, given the fact that we have the quarantine for 14 days. Nevertheless, making sure we are restricting the chances of a Covid-19 outbreak back into Australia. Those restrictions are in place with the Australian government at the moment. We have to obviously abide by those rules and obviously we await the decision from the ICC," added Warner.
Warner further added that most Australian players would want to play the IPL, which is most likely to be held in the September-October window, given the T20 World Cup and Asia Cup are postponed. For that, the foreign players in the league would require a go-ahead from their respective governments, given the travel restrictions in place.
"Look, most definitely all the players who have been selected and picked in the auction will put their hand up if we are permitted. One we have to get government clearance as well to travel. If Cricket Australia allows us to go over there and participate, I am sure the guys will definitely be on board with that to be back up and running and playing cricket again," said Warner.