The International Cricket Council (ICC) on Tuesday said the forthcoming T20 World Cup 2020 will "go ahead as scheduled" despite the ongoing coronavirus crisis across the globe.
"In response to the ongoing coronavirus crisis, the ICC T20 World Cup 2020 Local Organising Committee is monitoring the situation closely with relevant authorities, and will continue to do so," ICC said in a statement.
"The ICC Men's T20 World Cup is scheduled to take place from 18 October - 15 November 2020 in seven venues across Australia. We are planning for the event to go ahead as scheduled," the statement added.
Earlier in the day, Cricket Australia chief Kevin Roberts said that the men's T20 World Cup could be played as per schedule in normal circumstances.
"We're really hoping that all forms of sport can be played again in a few weeks or a few months' time," Roberts was quoted as saying by cricket.com.au.
"None of us are experts in this situation obviously, so our hope is that we're back in very much normal circumstances come October and November when the men's T20 World Cup is to be played."
Australia, who in February successfully hosted the Women's T20 World Cup, will host the men's event beginning with the pre-qualifiers from October 18-23 followed by the main 12-team competition from October 24.
Many sporting events across the world have been affected due to the coronavirus pandemic which has claimed more than 7,000 lives so far.
The BCCI and the Cricket South Africa (CSA) had decided to reschedule the three-match ODI series due to the COVID-19 outbreak. Besides, the start to the Indian Premier League (IPL) has been postponed to April 15.
