Reports: T20 World Cup 2021 to move out of India

The current hot topic of discussion is the upcoming ICC T20 World Cup 2021, which is set to take place in India in October and November. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) officials had conducted a Special General Meeting (SGM) on May 29 during which there was the decision made to move out the remainder of the 14th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) to the UAE.

BCCI vice-president Rajeev Shukla was optimistic about hosting the ICC event in India itself as the showpiece tournament is still five months away. Later the ICC too granted BCCI permission till June 28 when they met virtually to decide on the fate of the T20 World Cup.

Now, reportedly, the BCCI has taken a U-turn and internally intimated the ICC to shift the global event out of India due to the pandemic situation. In all probability, UAE is the preferred option as there is also a backup option in Oman with Muscat being the fourth venue apart from the three venues to be used during the World Cup.

“Yes, the BCCI, during the ICC board meeting, has formally asked for a four-week window to take a final call but, internally, they have said that they would like to keep the hosting rights and wouldn’t mind the tournament being held in UAE and Oman,” a senior board official, privy to ICC board developments said as reported in Inside Sport.

Muscat likely to host the preliminary rounds of the T20 World Cup

He also stated that Muscat has been shortlisted as the venue to host the preliminary rounds of the 16-team competition. This move seems sensible as the IPL is scheduled to re-start before the T20 World Cup and the pitches that will be used for the remaining 31 matches of the league will be played on the three grounds.

“If IPL finishes by October 10, then the UAE leg of World T20 can start off in November which would give three weeks’ time to the pitches to be spruced up for the global event. In the meanwhile, the first week can be held in Oman,” he said.

India is currently battling a strong second wave of COVID-19 and is daily reporting more than 1 lakh cases.