Cancellation of the IPL will not affect Australia's push for the World T20 title: Justin Langer

Australian men's cricket team coach Justin Langer has said that the possible cancellation of the IPL will not have an effect on Australia's push for a maiden World T20 title.

IPL 2020 was originally scheduled to begin on March 29 but has been pushed to April 15 owing to the coronavirus pandemic. However, with India currently under a 21-day lockdown period, it is highly unlikely that the tournament will proceed as planned.

Langer stressed on the IPL's role of helping players hone their skills, but also made a mention of needing to consider health concerns.

Also see – IPL team list

According to reports, the 49-year-old claimed that he's happy with the way the squad is shaping up, and there are only a few spots vacant in the squad.

“In terms of selection, I’m not too stressed about it ... one or two positions in our World Cup side are up for grabs. It’s a very, very settled team. We played great cricket against South Africa," he said.

Despite the pandemic putting a halt or postponing multiple series indefinitely, Langer is optimistic of his side getting enough match practise before they begin their World T20 campaign in October.

"There’s no better practice than match practice and I’m sure that we will, when the time’s right, (have that). We either manufacture it (in intra-squad games) or we’ll have plenty of that if this crisis slows down quicker than we think, " Langer added.

The ICC T20 World Cup is slated to commence from 18th October in Australia.