Former Australia captain Mark Taylor believes that the ICC T20 World Cup, which is scheduled to be played in Australia later this year, would eventually be postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic and it is likely to help the Indian Premier League (IPL).

Like major sporting events across the globe, all forms of professional cricket have come to standstill and a dark cloud of uncertainty looms over the fate of the T20 World Cup as well.

The tournament, scheduled to be held from October 18 to November 15 at the Down Under, is facing a serious threat also because the Australian government has banned the entry of all kinds of foreigners till at least September 30.

“I think that’s the most likely scenario (postponement of T20 World Cup) because 15 teams planning to come to Australia between October and November, 45 matches over a proposed seven venues, national travel is going to extremely difficult in the world we are living in,” Taylor told Channel Nine Sports.

“14 days isolation before that makes it even harder. More than likely that event is not going ahead. So if the ICC decides to postpone the event that will open the door for the BCCI to say that we will have our IPL in India which actually puts the onus back on individuals then rather than nations moving whole teams over to a certain country,” he added.

The 55-year-old former opener said if the IPL is favoured over T20 World Cup, it opens up serious negotiation opportunities for Cricket Australia with BCCI for the already-planned series Down Under.

“So that is certainly a possibility or probability. Cricket Australia will obviously want the T20 World Cup but at the same time will be working hard with India that if their players go there for IPL, they will want India to come to Australia for our summer of cricket next year,” Taylor said.

“Cricket in a way is fortunate with the timing. They have now got some time to do some planning. I have no doubt that CA will now be thinking about IPL and not T20 World Cup. They want India in this country. That’s what they want and they are already talking about Adelaide Oval as a hub.”

The IPL 2020, which was scheduled to be played from March 29 was earlier postponed to April 15 before it was suspended due to the crisis caused by the novel coronavirus till further notice.

However, there have been various media reports suggesting BCCI is mulling alternative windows like August-September and October-November to stage the 2020’s edition of the cash-rich tournament. But all of the speculations lacked an official backing as the fate of IPL continues to hang in doubt.