ICC hinted T20 World Cup to move out of India

ICC hinted T20 World Cup to move out of India.

The T20 World Cup marquee in October-November will move to the United Arab Emirates and Oman, and the BCCI has hinted internally to the ICC to go ahead with its preparation due to a complicated COVID-19 situation in India.

While the UAE was always the first choice for backup, Oman’s capital Muscat was added as the fourth place, in addition to Abu Dhabi, Dubai, and Sharjah, for the tournament that will begin in the last week of October.

“Yes, the BCCI, during the ICC board meeting, formally requested a four-week window to take one last call but, internally, they have said that they would like to retain the hosting rights and that they would not mind if celebrate the tournament. held in UAE and Oman, ”a senior board official, familiar with developments at the ICC board, told PTI on condition of anonymity.

He said Muscat has specifically focused on the preliminary rounds of the 16-team competition, which will also allow the three UAE grounds to have plenty of time to cool down after 31 IPL games.

“If the IPL ends on October 10, then the United Arab Emirates leg of the World T20 can begin in November, which would allow three weeks for the courts to be set up for the global event. Meanwhile, the first week can be done in Oman, ”he said.

Most members of the ICC board of directors believe that India is trying to bide the time as they assess the situation at a time when it is very difficult to predict how things will develop in October-November.

“If you think about it practically, India is now reporting around 120,000 cases, which is about a third of what was reported in late April and early this month.

“But sitting on June 28, if you say ‘yes’ to the World T20 celebration in India, how can you predict the health situation in October if there is a third wave?” Asked the experienced official.

The second question is if BCCI is wary of resuming the eight-team IPL in September in India, how can it hold a 16-team event in the country within a month?

“Look, everyone, including the BCCI leadership, knows that the monsoon is not a good enough reason and it is COVID-19, with almost 2.5 billion revenue at stake in the tournament.

“In a 16-team event, if there is a team that is affected in a bubble with several cases, it will not be like IPL. For weaker national teams, you won’t have ready replacements outside of 14 or 15 men. There are initial problems, ”said an official from a partner nation, which is part of the tournament.

Another “elephant in the room” is how many foreign players would like to risk coming to India for the tournament if the situation does not improve dramatically.

“They would certainly come to play the IPL in the United Arab Emirates and they would be more than happy to play the T20 World Cup there.

“But one can be sure that there would be apprehensions regarding health safety with the families of the players and their boards and the local cricket association would provide them with an update on perceptions of health threats. It would be easier said than done, ”the official said.