The International Cricket Council (ICC) on Tuesday confirmed shifting last year’s T20 World Cup to be held in India to new venues in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Oman, while stating clearly that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) will remain the hosts for the upcoming tournament in the shortest format of cricket.
It is believed that the T20 World Cup 2021 will be held a couple of days after the completion of the remainder of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021, a tournament which was also shifted to the Gulf following the postponement due to the second wave of the coronavirus pandemic in India.
The ICC has announced that the T20 World Cup 2021 will be played at four venues—Sharjah Cricket Stadium in Sharjah, Dubai International Stadium in Dubai, Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi and Oman Cricket Academy Ground in Muscat, Oman, from October 17 to November 14 this year.
BCCI boss Sourav Ganguly was quoted as saying by an ICC release, “The BCCI is looking forward to hosting the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2021 tournament in UAE and Oman. We would have been happier hosting it in India but considering the uncertainty due to the Covid 19 situation and the importance of a world championship, the BCCI will now continue to host this tournament in UAE and Oman. The BCCI is looking forward to creating a spectacle.”
Australia were set to host the T20 World Cup 2020 which got postponed indefinitely due to the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic last year.
The ICC had earlier announced that another T20 World Cup will be played in October-November 2022 slated in Australia, while it had pushed the dates of the 2023 ICC World Cup (50 overs) from February-March to October-November that year.