Difficult to play T20 World Cup in India this year, says Hussey

Former Australia batsman Michael Hussey said it would be difficult to play T20 World Cup in India this year because of the rampaging second wave of COVID-19 which forced the postponement of the Indian Premier League earlier this month.

CSK batting coach Hussey had tested positive for COVID-19 on May 4 -- the same day IPL 2021 was suspended indefinitely due after a few players and support staff members tested positive.

Hussey returned to Australia on Monday after recovering from COVID-19 in a Chennai hospital.

"I think it's going to be very difficult in my view to play T20 World Cup in India. We're talking about eight teams in the IPL. I think there are probably a similar number, maybe more teams coming in from overseas for the T20 World Cup, there'd be more venues. As I said earlier, if they're playing in different cities, that is when the risk goes up," Hussey told Fox Cricket on Thursday.

"I think they'll have to look some pretty big contingency plans, perhaps looking at the UAE or somewhere like that that could host the World T20. I think there will be a lot of cricket boards around the world that'd be pretty nervous about going back to India for a cricket tournament," he added.

The BCCI has called for a Special General Meeting (SGM) to be conducted virtually on May 29 with an eye on the ICC meeting to be held on June 1, to discuss the T20 World Cup to be held in India in October-November.

"The ICC will have the meeting on June 1 and before that, we will have our own meeting on May 29 to discuss the COVID-19 situation and what all measures need to be taken with an eye on the T20 World Cup which is slated to be held in India in October-November," a source told ANI.

India recorded 276,110 new cases of the coronavirus disease in a 24-hour span with 3,874 people succumbing to the disease, the Union health ministry data stated on Thursday morning.

The BCCI has planned nine venues for the T20 World Cup -- Ahmedabad, Mumbai, Kolkata, New Delhi, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Chennai, Dharamsala, and Lucknow.

In the last Apex Council meeting, the state associations had been told to keep preparations on for the event with an eye on the coronavirus pandemic.