The International Cricket Council (ICC) on Tuesday confirmed that the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2021 will be staged in the UAE and Oman due to the ongoing COVID-19 situation in India. The Board of Control for Cricket in India would, however, remain the hosts of the event to be held from October 17 to November 14, an ICC media release said.

The matches will now be held in Dubai International Stadium, the Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi, and the Sharjah Stadium – all in UAE - and the Oman Cricket Academy Ground. Muscat. This is possibly the first time that Oman - which has a large population of cricket-loving expatriate people from South Asia - will be hosting such a big international cricketing event. 

Acting ICC CEO Geoff Allardice said: “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”.

BCCI Secretary Jay Shah said every effort was made to stage the tournament in India and provide its passionate fans with a reason to cheer after a long period of gloom.

“However, the prevailing pandemic situation in the country meant that the health and safety of everyone concerned was fraught with risk should a tournament of this stature is held across the country. The BCCI will continue to host the tournament, which will now be held in the UAE and Oman, and work closely with the ICC to make it a memorable event,” he said.

Emirates Cricket Board Vice President Khalid Al Zarooni said: “The UAE’s reputation as being a safe country in which to host high-profile sporting events is a strong complement to our government’s unwavering commitment to implementing and monitoring effective health practices during the pandemic.

“Having hosted a number of high-profile tournaments in recent months our team is well-prepared and ready to mobilize to ensure the success of the ICC Men's T20 World Cup.”

Oman's national cricket team has qualified for the tournament and the country is likely to host the first-round games in which Sri Lanka, Ireland, Papua New Guinea, Oman, Bangladesh, Namibia, Netherlands and Scotland will compete.

Four teams from the first round will qualify for the Super 12 stage for which India, Australia, England, South Africa, Pakistan, New Zealand, West Indies and Afghanistan have direct entries.

During its last board meeting at the start of the month, the ICC had asked the BCCI to inform the feasibility of holding the tournament in India considering the COVID-19 situation in the country.

With the completion of the deadline Monday, the BCCI decided that conducting the tournament in India is not ideal now,

(SAM)