Days after Cricket Australia chief executive Kevin Roberts had said the T20 World Cup in October-November was under “very high risk”, the country’s sports minister, Richard Colbeck, was quoted as saying that the tournament could still be possible with limited spectators.

The minister also said that the government agencies were working in the development of their biosecurity measures for resumption of cricket.

His comment has come as a shot in the arm for the International Cricket Council (ICC), a day before its board is to meet via teleconference to debate on the fate of the tournament. It is most likely that the members will again buy time and defer a decision till at least next month.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) would be keenly following the developments since a postponement would force open a window to conduct the IPL. In case the ICC decides to hold the tournament as scheduled, the BCCI would be in a fix.

There’s talk that the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) meeting on Monday debated postponing the Asia Cup this year in view of the pandemic though a formal announcement will only be made at a later stage. In case that happens, the September-October window will be the only one left for the BCCI to host the IPL this year.

The ICC will also formalise the procedure for the election of its next chairman at the board meeting. Pakistan Cricket Board chairman Ehsan Mani’s name is suddenly doing the rounds .

“I wouldn’t like to comment now… As far as my knowledge goes, my name is being discussed only by the Indian media,” Mani told The Telegraph on Tuesday evening.

Covid subs

The ICC has approved Covid-19 replacements in Test cricket, banned the use of saliva (with a five-run penalty after two warnings) and re-introduced non-neutral umpires for bilateral series as part of its interim playing regulations to tackle the pandemic as recommended by the Anil Kumble-chaired cricket committee.

The teams will also be allowed an additional DRS call as home umpires will now be officiating in bilateral Test series.

“Teams will be allowed to replace players displaying symptoms of Covid-19 during a Test match,” the ICC said .