Wasim Akram suggests ICC to not have T20 World Cup 2020 behind the closed doors

The Coronavirus pandemic has created a situation where many cricket matches have been cancelled. Most importantly, the IPL 2020 had to be postponed indefinitely due to the growing number of cases in India. This entire situation has created a major problem for the International Cricket Council (ICC) when it comes to hosting of the Men’s T20 World Cup later this year.

The tournament is scheduled to be hosted by Australia. The world event will start on October 18 and go on until November 15. However, the coronavirus pandemic has put this tournament under some danger. Even though Australia has done a great job in fighting with the virus, it is unlikely to open its border for foreign travel anytime soon.

‘How could you have a cricket World Cup without spectators?’ questions Wasim Akram

One possible thing which has emerged is having the tournament behind the closed the doors. Before the coronavirus suspended all kind of international cricket, the last ODI was played with no crowds in March. It had happened in Sydney between New Zealand and Australia.

Talking about the possibility of having the tournament in that situation, former Pakistan captain Wasim Akram has given his opinion. The fast bowler has said that it won’t be a great idea to have the tournament in that way. Akram pointed out that a World event must be played with crowds to get the right feel.

“Personally, I don’t think it’s a good idea. I mean, how could you have a cricket World Cup without spectators. A World Cup is all about big crowds, spectators coming from all parts of the globe to support their teams. It’s all about the atmosphere and you cannot get it behind closed doors,” Wasim Akram said, as reported by India Today.

He suggested that ICC must wait for the right time to host the T20 World Cup. There have been rumours that the tournament could be shifted to 2022. As of now, there is no confirmation on that either. Akram, having played five World Cups for Pakistan is of a firm opinion that ICC should aim for a proper tournament with crowds.

“So I believe that they (ICC) should wait for a more suitable time and once this pandemic subsides and restrictions are eased then we can have a proper World Cup”, the former pacer added.