The ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2021 will be held in the United Arab Emirates and Oman from October 17 to November 14, the ICC said on Tuesday (June 29). The BCCI remain the host even though the tournament had to be moved out of the country due to the consequences of a drastic second wave of COVID-19 pandemic. "Our priority is to deliver the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2021 safely, in full and in its current window," said acting ICC CEO Geoff Allardice. "Whilst we are incredibly disappointed not to be hosting the event in India, the decision gives us the certainty we need to stage the event in a country that is a proven international host of multi-team events in a bio-secure environment. "The BCCI is looking forward to hosting the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2021 tournament in UAE and Oman," said BCCI president Sourav Ganguly.
"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. "Four venues - Dubai International Stadium, the Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi, the Sharjah Stadium, and the Oman Cricket Academy Ground - have been shortlisted for the tournament. The first round of the tournament, comprising the eight qualifying teams, will be split between Oman and UAE. The four teams progressing to the Super 12s round will be joined by the eight automatic qualifiers. The eight teams competing in the preliminary stage are Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Ireland, Netherlands, Scotland, Namibia, Oman and Papua New Guinea. BCCI president Sourav Ganguly had told the Times of India that the board has convinced the ICC to kickstart the tournament on October 17 with the qualifiers of 8 teams, which means that the mainstream action in the T20 World Cup will not begin before the end of the third week of October or the beginning of the fourth week. "The dates haven't been finalised. Even if the tournament starts on the heels of the IPL, it will not be much of a problem because the first 12 matches of the tournament will be played between the eight teams as qualifiers. Those matches will be played in Oman," BCCI president Sourav Ganguly told the paper on Monday.
