Aussies consider expanded 5-Test series vs India

BRISBANE, Australia (AP):

The prospect of a five-Test series between Australia and India is gaining traction as cricket authorities contemplate ways of making up for lost time when the peak of the coronavirus pandemic has passed.

Cricket Australia chief executive Kevin Roberts says all options will be considered for hosting India, the sport’s major income generator, in December and January. That could include playing all games between Australia and Virat Kohli’s India squad in one venue.

Australia is also pushing ahead with plans to stage the Twenty20 Cricket World Cup, which is slated to run October 18 to November 15.

“If you contemplate the prospect of the international season in particular being affected, we have an issue of (losing revenue of) hundreds of millions of dollars on our hands,” Roberts said during a teleconference yesterday. “We’ll be doing everything possible to launch and stage a season in 2020-21.”

That could include a T20 World Cup devoid of fans at games.

“What we do know is that the bigger returns from the broadcast rights around the event that are generated by the ICC are very important to all of our counterparts around the cricket world,” Roberts said. “So it’s incumbent on us to do everything possible to stage and host the T20 World Cup.”

All sports leagues are on hold in Australia and strict border and travel restrictions have been imposed amid the pandemic, including bans on international visitors.

Worldwide, the virus has infected nearly 2.5 million people and caused more than 170,000 deaths, according to a Johns Hopkins University count. Australia has had more than 6,500 cases and 67 deaths, although the infection rate has been decreasing and speculation is increasing that tight restrictions may start to ease.