The International Cricket Council (ICC) Men's T20 World Cup is the biggest event remaining on the sport's calendar this year and is due to take place in October and November in Australia.

However, Ravi Shastri has outlined his belief that series between only two countries and domestic cricket should be prioritised.

"I wouldn't put too much emphasis on world events right now," Shastri told the Times of India.

"Stay at home, ensure domestic cricket comes back to normal, cricketers at all levels - international, first-class, et cetera - all get back on the field. 

"That's the most important bit. 

"Second: start with bilateral cricket.

"If we had to choose between hosting a World Cup and a bilateral tour, obviously, we'd settle for the bilateral.

"Instead of 15 teams flying in, we'd settle for one team flying in and playing an entire bilateral series at one or two grounds."

Shastri's India team are due to go a tour of Australia later this year, playing warm-up games ahead of the T20 World Cup and then taking on Australia in a Test series afterwards.

There has been a suggestion that that tour could go ahead even if the T20 World Cup was postponed, given that a tour may be easier to stage logistically and the treasurer of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) last week said Indian players and officials would be willing to self-isolate for 14 days after arriving in Australia.

Sixteen different teams are due to compete at the World Cup - a factor Shastri cites when he says the Indian Premier League (IPL) may be a better event to prioritise. 

Given it is the highest-paying tournament in cricket, elite players may well agree with Shastri, although whether a full complement of international players could take part would depend on global travel restrictions.

"When cricket resumes, we could give the IPL a priority," Shastri suggested

"The difference between an international tournament and the IPL is that the IPL can be played between one or two cities and the logistics will be easier to manage.

"The same thing with bilaterals - it'll be easier for us to tour one country and play there at specific grounds than 15-16 teams flying in during these times.

"The International Cricket Council needs to look at this objectively."

There are eight teams in the IPL, which has been postponed indefinitely due to the pandemic but was due to begin on March 29.

Shastri's employer - the BCCI - runs the IPL and has a vested interest in the tournament being played this year.