Melbourne:The Australian government might make travel exemptions for the Indian team’s tour Down Under later this year to save the cricket board from losing a staggering 300 million Australian dollars in the wake of COVID-9 pandemic.
Cricket Australia is under huge financial pressure due to global lockdown and has laid off 80 percent of its staff. India’s four-Test tour in December-January could provide a relief to the struggling body As of now, Australia’s borders are sealed till September 30 but their could be an extension of travel sanctions.
According to a report in ‘ESPNCricinfo’,”international exemptions to allow an India touring party to arrive in Australia next summer would be seriously considered by the federal government in the event of wider travel bans, strongly suggesting that Cricket Australia will be able to avoid losing up to AUD 300 million in revenue in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.” The website also reported that CA has received a positive response from its government. “…The governing body is understood to have received highly encouraging news about their outlook, at least as far as the lucrative India tour is concerned,” the report stated.
Cricket Australia was expecting revenue of AUD 500 million from this financial cycle, primarily from broadcast rights. Even if spectators are not allowed and cricket becomes a TV only event, they happen to lose AUD 50 million.
But if India fail to tour, the repercussions will be of gigantic proportions. “Such a scenario (only live TV coverage) would likely leave CA with a hole of around AUD 50 million in its annual revenue of nearly AUD 500 million, but nowhere near the sort of blow they could have expected without being able to welcome India for a series of Test and limited overs matches due to pull the organisation out of the low point of its four-year revenue cycle,” the report stated.
Australia Prime Minister Scott Morrison on Friday had said that his government is looking at all option as far as resumption of sporting activities is concerned. “What is a safe way to be able to do that, and to get as much consistency as we possibly can across all the states and territories,” Morrison said. “That was strongly supported today by all the states and territories, having something along those lines they would find very helpful.” Test cricket series played between India and Australia is named The Border–Gavaskar Trophy. It is currently played via the International Cricket Council’s future tours program, with varying lengths of time between matches. If the series is drawn, then the country holding the trophy previously retains it.
The series is named after Australia’s Allan Border and India’s Sunil Gavaskar, the first 2 test cricketers to have scored over 10,000 Test runs in their respective careers, former captains of their respective teams, and were both world record holders for the most career runs scored in Test match cricket.
India currently holds the trophy after regaining the trophy from Australia in the 2017 series which they won 2–1, then retaining it in the 2018–19 series which they won by the same margin. The first edition was held in 1996 in which India won by seven wickets. The series is mostly a four test series with the exceptions being the first four editions and 2010. Sachin Tendulkar is the most successful batsman with 3262 runs from 65 innings for India.
Indian bowler, Anil Kumble is the most successful bowler in the series with 111 wickets over 20 matches at an average of 30.32 (PTI)
