We may shift the T20 World Cup to UAE, hints Jay Shah

The Board of Control for Cricket in India secretary Jay Shah has hinted that the T20 World Cup, which was scheduled to be held in India later in the October-November window, will be hosted in UAE. Shah admitted that it will be difficult for the Indian board to host the T20 World Cup in India due to Covid-19 situation.

Meanwhile, it has been reported that the T20 World Cup will take place from October 17 and the final will be played on November 14. On the other hand, the IPL will also be hosted in UAE from October 19 and the final will be played on October 15. Thus, the ICC will have a tough task to keep the pitches fresh for the T20 World Cup as there are only three stadiums in UAE.

“Due to the COVID-19 situation in our country, we may shift the tournament to the UAE. We are monitoring the situation closely, the health and safety of players are paramount, we will take a final call soon,” Shah told news agency ANI.

One of the BCCI spokespersons also confirmed that the Indian board officials will go to UAE after July 6 to arrange the logistical deals for the second leg of IPL 2021 and the T20 World Cup.

“We are looking at heading to the UAE post-July 6 once we get the go-ahead from the BCCI and the government so that we can seal the logistical deals. Unlike last year, bulk bookings won’t be as easy this year as you will have people travelling into the country and that makes the work around bio-bubbles all the more critical,” the official explained.

Meanwhile, 20 teams will take part in the T20 World Cup. There will be a Round 1 in the initial stage as teams like Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Ireland, Netherlands, Scotland, Namibia, Oman, Papua New Guinea will battle it out against each other. Four teams out of these eight will qualify for the Super 12s as they will join the top eight ranked T20I sides for the second stage of the tournament.