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Australia vice-captain Alex Carey says he'd love to see fans attending games at the Twenty20 World Cup, even if that means delaying the event.
Alex Carey would love to see the Twenty20 World Cup delayed if it gave hosts Australia a chance to play in front of fans, but the vice-captain concedes it's very hard to know when that might be possible.
The COVID-19 pandemic has halted global sport and cast doubt over a range of events, including the T20 World Cup.
The tournament was scheduled to run from October 18 until November 15, but its future is even more clouded after Cricket Australia announced it is standing down the majority of its staff on reduced pay until the end of the financial year.
T20 World Cup organisers are examining a range of contingency options as the International Cricket Council (ICC) decides whether to postpone, cancel or stick with the original dates, which would almost certainly prevent crowds from attending.
Carey admitted it would be disappointing if the event is scrapped altogether.
A scheduling quirk means India is supposed to hold another T20 World Cup next year, complicating any plan to postpone the 2020 edition of the event.
Former captain Allan Border suggested earlier this week that a World Cup without fans would defy belief, while Glenn Maxwell expressed similar sentiments.
Carey agreed that delaying the tournament, if it meant fans could attend, would be "the ideal situation".
"If you can put a date on it - it's probably hard right now to say if we postpone the T20 World Cup then three months later it'll be fine to open the gates," the wicketkeeper said.
"I trust the guys - well above my head - to make the right decisions.
"You want your fans there. They play a very big part in our sport and without the fans we wouldn't have a job.
"So it would be hard to proceed without fans but I love playing cricket, and if there's no-one there I'd definitely still go out there and play."
The health crisis has put Carey's maiden Indian Premier League stint in doubt, but the 28-year-old isn't kicking cans about missing out on a chance to work closely with Delhi coach Ricky Ponting.
"I'm healthy, safe, getting to spend a lot of time with my family," he said.
