ICC has confirmed the venues and dates of the T20 World Cup 2021. The limited-overs tournament will commence from October 17 and end on November 14 across UAE and Oman. It has been widely reported that the first phase of the tournament will take place in Oman and the remaining games will be in UAE.
India was supposed to host the event, but the pandemic situation in the country forced BCCI and ICC to find an alternative venue for the tournament. Three venues have been decided in UAE which includes Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Sharjah. Oman Cricket Academy in Muscat will also be one of the hosts.
Meanwhile, the second phase of IPL 2021 will reportedly commence in UAE from September 17 and the finals will be played on October 10, which is just four days before the beginning of the World Cup. ICC has reportedly guaranteed to provide a resting time for the pitches in UAE before the World Cup. The preliminary stage of the T-20 World Cup will include teams like Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Ireland, Netherlands, Scotland, Namibia, Oman, and Papua New Guinea.
Geoff Allardice, ICC’s acting CEO has revealed that the board was looking forward to hosting the World Cup in India. However, they had to make a tough decision due to the pandemic situation in the country.
“Our priority is to deliver the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2021 safely, in full and in its current window. 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 president Sourav Ganguly admitted that the Indian cricket board is looking forward to hosting the tournament in UAE and Oman. He further added that the board would have been pleased if the tournament was played in India but they understand the gravity of the COVID-19 situation which developed uncertainty.