Covid19 pandemic has all but put paid to any hopes of holding the ICC T20 World Cup in Australia this year. Given the current scenario, it may turn out to be an entirely loss-making effort to even go ahead with the preparations with just about everything up in the air from travel and visas to hotels, not just for players but television crews as well.
Holding an international game of cricket involves far more than merely putting the two sides on the ground along with supervising crew of officials. With almost zero chances of spectators being allowed to attend games, despite Australia having a rather low rate of the viral infection, the role of TV coverage assumes far greater significance.
To get a world-class TV feed out to the homes world-wide the event would need more than one crew given Australia's geographical size which doesn't make life any easier in so far as travel is concerned. And each crew comprises of around a hundred persons from the loader to the technicians to the production management crew to the former players as part of the commentary team!
Obviously no one country can supply such a large number of people and for an event like the ICC T20 the crew has to be sourced globally. That brings into question the international travel which is NOT open just yet and governments appear to be in no hurry to open their borders. Then follows the quarantine requirements which would mean extra days of stay for the crew members.
So much needed for the human resources!
Then comes the equipment which again must be sourced internationally! Given that the much-debated Decision Review System in cricket, much like other sports, depends solely on the TV coverage, which has all the different gadgets required to assist the on-field umpires reach a definite decision, each crew must also carry with them almost 10 tonnes of equipment.
And equipment is more than mere cameras and lenses. There are replay and graphics machines which are all connected together with more than 8 km of high quality cables. Crew need to time to rig each venue and then dismantle the entire set-up before moving on to the next.
ICC T20 being a top class world event cannot be restricted to only a few venues, say like an Indian Premier League could be. After all IPL is only a domestic competition which attracts participation from all over the world, pretty much like football's Premier League in England or La Liga in Spain.
Given that crew would, in all likelihood, spend nearly a month (15 days each in Australia and country of residence) in quarantine, they would expect to be compensated adequately, further increasing costs.
TV production rights for ICC events are held by one company while another holds the world-wide broadcast rights. Radio rights belong to a third company. Wonderful business for ICC under normal circumstances but in the present situation it could all turn out to a huge nightmare not only for hosts Cricket Australia but all involved.
It may just be a better idea to take a final call on pushing the ICC T20 to next year and allow each country to use the time as they deem fit.
IPL would be a top choice for Board of Control for Cricket in India. And BCCI will surely not be disappointed if they get enough advance warning about the availability of dates in the international calendar. IPL could be restricted to fewer centres with far less logistics involved as franchisees appear agreeable to the idea of holding a scaled-down event rather than no-event at all!
Holding an international game of cricket involves far more than merely putting the two sides on the ground along with supervising crew of officials. With almost zero chances of spectators being allowed to attend games, despite Australia having a rather low rate of the viral infection, the role of TV coverage assumes far greater significance.
To get a world-class TV feed out to the homes world-wide the event would need more than one crew given Australia's geographical size which doesn't make life any easier in so far as travel is concerned. And each crew comprises of around a hundred persons from the loader to the technicians to the production management crew to the former players as part of the commentary team!
Obviously no one country can supply such a large number of people and for an event like the ICC T20 the crew has to be sourced globally. That brings into question the international travel which is NOT open just yet and governments appear to be in no hurry to open their borders. Then follows the quarantine requirements which would mean extra days of stay for the crew members.
So much needed for the human resources!
Then comes the equipment which again must be sourced internationally! Given that the much-debated Decision Review System in cricket, much like other sports, depends solely on the TV coverage, which has all the different gadgets required to assist the on-field umpires reach a definite decision, each crew must also carry with them almost 10 tonnes of equipment.
And equipment is more than mere cameras and lenses. There are replay and graphics machines which are all connected together with more than 8 km of high quality cables. Crew need to time to rig each venue and then dismantle the entire set-up before moving on to the next.
ICC T20 being a top class world event cannot be restricted to only a few venues, say like an Indian Premier League could be. After all IPL is only a domestic competition which attracts participation from all over the world, pretty much like football's Premier League in England or La Liga in Spain.
Given that crew would, in all likelihood, spend nearly a month (15 days each in Australia and country of residence) in quarantine, they would expect to be compensated adequately, further increasing costs.
TV production rights for ICC events are held by one company while another holds the world-wide broadcast rights. Radio rights belong to a third company. Wonderful business for ICC under normal circumstances but in the present situation it could all turn out to a huge nightmare not only for hosts Cricket Australia but all involved.
It may just be a better idea to take a final call on pushing the ICC T20 to next year and allow each country to use the time as they deem fit.
IPL would be a top choice for Board of Control for Cricket in India. And BCCI will surely not be disappointed if they get enough advance warning about the availability of dates in the international calendar. IPL could be restricted to fewer centres with far less logistics involved as franchisees appear agreeable to the idea of holding a scaled-down event rather than no-event at all!
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