The Euro T20 Slam cricket tournament has been postponed for the second year in a row due to uncertainty caused by the coronavirus pandemic, organizers said on Wednesday. The competition, involving franchises from six cities based in Ireland, Scotland, and the Netherlands, was initially scheduled to start in 2019 but was postponed shortly before its start date. T20 stars, including New Zealander Martin Guptill, England skipper Eoin Morgan, World Cup winner, and Pakistani Shahid Afridi, were all lined up to play. Organizers said discussions over the past few weeks had given a “silver lining” that the competition could be launched this year.
But they said in a statement on Wednesday that “continued uncertainty around the impacts of COVID-19 on international travel, quarantine requirements and the status of fan participation in matches has sabotaged plans for the current season.”
Cricket Ireland chief executive Warren Deutrom said: “The Slam Board reluctantly concluded that the uncertainty caused by the pandemic and the compromises made to the original goals did not make it an issue. viable start in 2020.”
He underlined the continued commitment to the competition.
“Even if it takes up to the third time, we still strongly believe in the viability, rationale, and value of a European T20 franchise concept and will continue to do our best to make it happen.”, he mentioned.
