Is the T20 World Cup worth it?

Yep that seems to be what the Indians are talking to CA about. The idea is to convince CA to release Australian players for the IPL, as they aren’t normally allowed to go to play in other T20 leagues during our domestic season. The sweetener would be extra ODIs after the India Tests which would be a big TV money spinner. World Cup would be postponed, though it’s a bit unclear whether that would work in Feb/March as other countries already have international series scheduled then.

I've no doubt the scenario you've drawn up could easily happen, but I also think there are two things that are standing against that happening ( or happening too often). The first is individual player pride in representing their country. The top sportspeople are fiercely proud of representing their country and I see this happening all the time in cricket. Guys like Glenn Maxwell who have had a really hard time of it with selections and could easily make lots in T20 Leagues, is happy to pull on the Aussie cap, even though he might be missing out on money. The other factor are the various cricket Boards. Contracted players would not be given any opportunity to play another form of the game if they had a chance to be picked for their country. There's been plenty of occasions where guys have been refused permission to play IPL because CA thought they needed to rest. I agree it will happen eventually, but not to a top line player. An uncontracted fringe player will be the first - there speaketh Nostradamus Paul. :happy:

Cancelled entirely is more likely. India are hosting the 2021 T20 world cup. (they are moving it to odd years).

For what it's worth, I agree with this. I have no issue if they delay the T20 world cup so they can host the IPL. if it means we can have both comps without any issues over player availability then that's a win win. Anyone complaining about dollars taking precedence over country clearly hasn't been paying any attention to cricket since 1977

I agree Paul, the WC is a logistical nightmare because of number of teams and needs to be abandoned in the current environment. My concern was also with the notion that players see the Indian domestic comp as superior to any World Cup regardless of the reason. I woulda thought an extra zero was added to Stokes value for his ODI WC profile, so if a player was to subsequently ignore a WC, either ODI or T20 to satisfy IPL requirements either defined or protecting their own earning potential it would be indicative of a completely changing landscape.

nah, the WC won't happen because of our travel restrictions, players not being able to get any serious game time beforehand, etc, but the IPL will if India can guarantee player health through the course of the tournament.

"Any contracted IPL player would need to seriously weigh up the pros and cons of playing in the World Cup if the IPL season starts after the World Cup. Why even consider playing either of those tournaments this year is beyond belief now, with the current COVID-19 pandemic looking like it will stretch into next year." The two paragraphs concerned me. I can't imagine a scenario where a player is chosen to play for his country in a World Cup, but pulls out because they might, maybe suffer an injury that prevents them from meeting their IPL contract. I don't think the issue of the virus being around in the coming years has a lot to do with whether these tournaments should or should not be hosted. Australia is starting to re-open businesses and cricket is no different from any of these. If the right precautions are taken, there should be no reason why games cannot be played, be it a World Cup, IPL or what ever. The real issue is whether it makes sense to do so, given the likelihood of no/reduced crowds, players who haven't hit a ball in anger for months, etc. The WC needs to be abandoned but the IPL can go ahead, assuming the players are happy with the health arrangements.

More likely moved to Feb/March 2021.

A decade ago it would be hard to believe anyone coulda seen the same scenario potentially affect cricket as it has for the Olympics with US basketballers, baseballers and ice hockey players. It'll certainly start putting national contracts under the microscope, especially for India! Do they really have the complete control of the ICC to the point now where they can hold their domestic tournament at the same time as the World Cup in that format? Or force the ICC and Australia to have it at a time that suits only them? I say, of course, we had a preview of that with the Aussies playing in India in January this year, with CA sacrificing our crowds summer holiday sport for Indian interests. The big picture is India's control, the small picture; there'll be another T20 World Cup along in a few minutes.

Agree but they will do it if they can because of the broadcast $$$.

My understanding was that the T20 World Cup would be cancelled in favour of the IPL.