In this March 8, 2020 photo, Australia's Rachael Haynes dives to gain her ground during the Twenty20 women's World Cup cricket final match between Australia and India in Melbourne. (WILLIAM WEST / AFP)

Planning for this year’s men’s Twenty20 World Cup and next year’s women’s 50-over World Cup is going ahead even though cricket remains suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the International Cricket Council (ICC) said on Thursday.

The men’s T20 World Cup is scheduled to be played in Australia from Oct 18 to Nov 15 while the women’s World Cup in 2021 is scheduled for Feb 6 to March 7 in New Zealand

The ICC hosted a Chief Executives’ Committee (CEC) meeting with the CEOs of the 12 full members and three associate representatives to discuss the challenges boards will face in the coming months in their respective countries.

The men’s T20 World Cup is scheduled to be played in Australia from Oct 18 to Nov 15 while the women’s World Cup in 2021 is scheduled for Feb 6 to March 7 in New Zealand.

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“The CEC was updated on the continuing contingency planning for all ICC global events, including the men’s T20 World Cup 2020 and the women’s World Cup 2021. Planning for both events as currently scheduled is ongoing,” the ICC said in a statement.

Cricket Australia chief Kevin Roberts said they were working with the ICC, the government and the local organising committee to understand what it would take to conduct the tournament as scheduled.

“We are also jointly exploring all other options in relation to staging the event and will take the right decisions at the right time,” Roberts said.

The CEC also agreed that the Future Tour Programme would need to be reviewed till 2023 after a number of bilateral series were postponed due to the pandemic.