ICC said last week it was still planning for the tournament according to its Oct. 18 - Nov. 15 schedule, despite a global shutdown of sport to contain COVID-19. But it would be a 'logistical nightmare' due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Maxwell said that the clash was unavoidable due to changes in the schedule.
With the year sprinting to a close, we bring you, in pictures, some of the best action from the sports world.
"Harry Brook has had an extraordinary time in the early parts of his career batting four and five in T20 cricket in all the different franchises that he's played in.
With as many as fourteen Australians taking part in the inaugural edition of the Women's Premier League, CA CEO Nick Hockley was happy to see the growth of women's cricket.
According to Vaughan, Pietersen believed playing in the IPL with other top international players would help in the development of the ODI team.
I believe they will never do it again
James became a leading voice in support of the Black Lives Matter movement following the murder of George Floyd in 2020.
Australia also won last year's Twenty20 World Cup for the first time under Langer but there have been reports of player discontent over his coaching style.
'It's useless trying to make a leader out of a man who goes to the toilet 20 times before a game'
Former England captain Michael Vaughan hailed Virat Kohli as an incredible leader, saying the India skipper gave a tactical masterclass to how to win a Test match.
Bollywood loves number games. And not just the rat race kind. There's a slew of movies with numbers in their title.
Australia's Fox Sports reported that Bairstow was involved in a clash, in a hotel bar, with Australian player Cameron Bancroft in Perth during England's warm-up for the series.
The women's World Cup final between the United States and Japan on Sunday may not rival the Super Bowl, but soccer fans, wild with excitement.
Smith was removed from captaincy due to his involvement in the scandal in 2018
Starc took the help of orthopaedic surgeon Russel Miller, who said the injury was "complex and multifactorial" but "it is likely, on the balance of probabilities, that at specific injury occurred on 10/03/2018 which was associated with extreme physical activity including bowling on a pitch with uneven footmarks'."
Assume Voot, JioCinema and Disney+ Hotstar are merged into one entertainment app, and you have a streaming service with more than 233 million unique visitors. That is a reach just under half of India's largest streaming app: YouTube. 'This level of consolidation does not exist even in the US.'
'Having teams, support staff and everyone else associated with the game wandering around the country, playing games of cricket, but you can't let people into the grounds. I just can't see it happening.'
Australia pacer Pat Cummins believes the IPL organisers, in hindsight, could have 'tweaked a few things' after deciding to host the league in India amidst a raging COVID-19 pandemic.
The reigning world champion duo of Chen Meng and Wang Yidi gasped in surprise seeing the backhand return of Ayhika Mukherjee, who, in part, engineered India's biggest triumph of the Asian Games thus far.
Could it be about clout? Given its size and influence, RIL doesn't need the media for that, notes Vanita Kohli-Khandekhar.
'The politics of it may be wishy-washy and the saviour at Darkest Hour's centre may well be a racist, an imperialist, and an alcoholic, but in Gary Oldman's nimble skin, smacked in layers and layers of prosthetics to resemble the heavily-jowled, cigar-smoking, portly penguin-like demeanour of the British Bulldog, it pretty much screams, "And the Oscar goes to"...' notes Sukanya Verma.
Chennaiyin FC beat Delhi FC 2-1; Gokulam qualifies following Bengaluru-Blasters draw
The $385 million acquisition of TEN Sports is set to make Sony Pictures Networks a major cricket broadcaster in Asia as it seeks to expand its Twenty20-dominated portfolio. Sony Corp-owned SPN holds broadcast rights for the annual cash-rich Indian Premier League Twenty20 cricket tournament while also having the rights for the domestic leagues in South Africa and the West Indies.
United States striker Abby Wambach has apologised for her suggestion the referee targeted certain American players for yellow cards.
Under-fire Chris Gayle has sought the services of a leading Australian lawyer to start defamation proceedings against Fairfax Media over allegations that the West Indian cricketer indecently exposed himself to a woman in Sydney during the World Cup last year. The allegations came to the fore following Gayle's widely-criticised live interview with Ten Sports' female presenter Mel McLaughlin while playing for Melbourne Renegades in the Big Bash League.
Sacked CEO Kevin Roberts alone is not responsible for Cricket Australia's financial woes and culpability of the Board also needs to be fixed, said the legendary Allan Border. Border was flabbergasted how Cricket Australia got to the situation where it had to stand down around 80 per cent of its staff, saying that the sword should not fall on just one head.
Warne, Ponting, Langer to play Twenty20 bushfire match; Serena donates Auckland winnings to help raise money.
A BCCI official in the know of developments said that the Indian cricket board stands with the boys as such behaviour is 'unacceptable'.
Shubhankar Sharma ended tied seventh with a final round of 1-under 71.
Formula One will make it mandatory for all personnel working in its paddock to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19, without exemption, starting this season.
Well aware that he has not been "everyone's cup of tea", the enigmatic David Warner says he would have toned down a bit if he were to start all over again.
A summary of sports events and sports persons, who made news on Friday
Milwaukee led by 18 in the third quarter before Philadelphia used a 23-9 run to tie the game at 108 mid-way through the final period.
Isa Guha feels that Indian team going into the first Test looks way more settled compared to the Australian side
It was a fun year. I did a lot of fun things. I got Australia back in the world group of the Davis Cup, won a couple of titles, so it's been a good year so hopefully I can back it up in 2017
Bukayo Saka scored either side of halftime as Arsenal crushed second-bottom Burnley 5-0.
Kohli's Indian team is eying its maiden Test series victory in Australia. Having toured the country twice, Kohli is now leading the team.
At the start of the English football season last August, bookmakers in Britain were offering odds of 5,000-1 against LeicesterCity winning the Premier League. 5,000-1? Now, let's put that into perspective.
The ban on travellers from India by Australia had added "anxiety" for its cricketers after the Indian Premier League's suspension, Australia vice captain Pat Cummins said, as players isolated in the COVID-ravaged Asian nation on Wednesday.
