T20 World Cup 2021 | 'Afghanistan full member of ICC, preparing for the tournament' - ICC CEO Geoff Allardice

10/10/2021

ICC acting CEO Geoff Allardice has said that Afghanistan are a full-time member and will be playing in the upcoming T20 World Cup 2021 despite the political turmoil in the country. However, Allardice added that a decision on country's cricketing future will be taken after the marquee event.

Notably, Australia Test captain Tim Paine had recently said that teams might refuse to play Afghanistan at the T20 World Cup.

"They are full member of the ICC and the team is preparing for the event at the moment and will be playing in Group B," Allardice said.

"As far as their participation in the event, it's proceeding as normal."

The Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) has said it is committed to women's cricket but was awaiting instructions from the new Taliban regime, which has returned to power in the country after 20 years.

The ICC is currently adopting the wait-and-watch policy before taking any decision on the future of Afghanistan cricket. Geoff Allardice said that the governing body will have a detailed discusssion once the T20 World Cup 2021 ends on November 14.

"Our primary function is to support the development of cricket in that country through the member board," Allardice told a virtual news conference ahead of the Twenty20 World Cup which begins on Oct. 17.

"We have said all along that we are waiting to see how things unfold under the different regime in that country."

"The ICC board will consider it when they next meet which is looking like at the end of the T20 World Cup."

ICC and not member nations to take care of Covid-19 scares in T20 World Cup 2021

Further, the International Cricket Council's (ICC) committee of medical experts, which includes the BCCI's Abhijit Salve, will handle the situation if Covid-19 cases arise, acting chief executive Geoff Allardice said on Sunday. In bilateral tournaments, the boards of the involved member nations make the decision in such cases.

"I think we have been pretty clear in our communication with the members. We have a committee set up to look at any cases that arise during the event," Allardice said.

"Any decisions around matches will be taken by that committee and it's not going to be something that's going to be dealt by the members as it may do in bilateral cricket," he said. The men's T20 World Cup will be held from October 17 to November 14.