England limited-overs captain is not too optimistic about the event’s chances.
England limited-overs captain
The International Cricket Council (ICC) insisted earlier Wednesday that press reports the tournament would be postponed due to the pandemic were "inaccurate", while stressing it was examining contingencies. Morgan, however, was sceptical about the prospects of the October 18-November 15 going ahead as planned given what he forecast would be Australian government reluctance to let overseas teams into a country where there have been only just over a hundred deaths from COVID-19. "I'd be surprised if it goes ahead," said Morgan. "My reasons for that would be if you look at how Australia have handled the pandemic, they've shut down the borders pretty early, had a limited number of cases and deaths in comparison to the rest of the world." Dashing batsman Morgan, 33, hopes to lead England at the T20 World Cup, whenever it is, and at the following 2021 edition in India, despite a longstanding back problem. And the left-hander hopes form and fitness will allow him to be involved in the defence of England's 50-over title in India in 2023. "I think a lot of that is going to be dependent on my body," he said. "If my back continues to get better, yes, that could be a chance. If it continues to deteriorate, you can't look past the T20 World Cups."