ICC Confirms UAE and Oman As Venues for T20 Cricket World Cup

ICC Confirms UAE and Oman As Venues for T20 Cricket World Cup.

The International Cricket Council (ICC) confirmed on Tuesday that the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2021 will be held in the United Arab Emirates and Oman due to the current COVID-19 situation in India. (More cricket news)

BCCI will continue to host the event, which will now take place at the Dubai International Stadium, the Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi, the Sharjah Stadium, and the Oman Cricket Academy Grounds, from October 17 to November 14th.

“Our priority is to deliver the ICC Men’s World Cup T20 2021 safely, completely, and in its current window. While we are incredibly disappointed not to host the event in India, the decision gives us the certainty that we need to host the event in a country that is a proven international host of multi-team events in a biosecure environment. We will work closely with BCCI, Emirates Cricket Board, and Oman Cricket to ensure that fans can enjoy a wonderful celebration of cricket, ”said Geoff Allardice, ICC interim CEO.

“BCCI went to great lengths to host the ICC T20 Men’s World Cup in India and give their passionate fans a reason to cheer after a long period of sadness. However, the prevailing pandemic situation in the country meant that the health and safety of all those involved were fraught with risks if a tournament of this category was held across the country. BCCI will continue to host the tournament, which will now take place in the United Arab Emirates and Oman and will work closely with the ICC to make it a memorable event, ”said Jay Shah, BCCI Secretary.

“BCCI is looking forward to hosting the 2021 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup tournament in the United Arab Emirates and Oman. We would have been happier to host it in India, but considering the uncertainty due to the Covid 19 situation and the importance of a world championship, BCCI will continue to host this tournament in UAE and Oman, ”said BCCI president Sourav Ganguly.

The ICC, earlier in the month, had given the BCCI a four-week window to decide and report on whether India could host the main event considering the COVID-19 situation in the country. It was previously reported that the tournament was moving to the United Arab Emirates.

This was after the pandemic forced a postponement of the IPL, the second part of which will also take place in the United Arab Emirates in September-October.

It was a foregone conclusion that India will find it difficult to host a 16-country tournament in nine cities with so many levels of health security problems. In fact, the ICC had already started preparations and logistics for the tournament to be held in Dubai, Sharjah, and Abu Dhabi.

The qualifying round could be held in Muscat, giving the ideal time for the UAE fields to cool down after 31 remaining IPL matches are held until October 15.

Once the IPL moved to the UAE, it was a foregone conclusion that the T20 World Cup would also move given concerns about a possible third wave of COVID-19 infection at the time.