Jay Shah confirms shifting of T20 World Cup 2021 to UAE, says BCCI will inform ICC today

BCCI will retain the hosting rights irrespective of where the event is played.

By Salman Anjum - 28 Jun, 2021

Considering the grim COVID-19 situation in India, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has decided to shift the ICC T20 World Cup 2021 to UAE.

Confirming the development, BCCI secretary Jay Shah on Monday (June 28) told ANI: "We will inform ICC today that we are shifting the T20 World Cup to UAE. The dates of the tournament, the ICC needs to decide."

After its board meeting on June 1, ICC had stated that Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Sharjah will be hosting the matches if the tournament gets moved out of India while the governing body was on the lookout for another venue in the Middle East.

ICC had also clarified that the BCCI will retain their hosting rights irrespective of where the event is played.

It is pertinent to mention here that the remaining 31 games of IPL 2021 will also be held in UAE. The second phase of IPL 14 will reportedly kick-off from September 19 with the final to be played on October 15.

Last week, ESPNcricinfo reported that the T20 World Cup will get underway on October 17, two days after the IPL final.

Amid the development, IPL franchises are sweating over the availability of overseas cricketers.

Meanwhile, some franchise officials are set to visit UAE after July 6 in order to finalise the logistics for the cash-rich tournament.

"We are looking at heading to the UAE post-July 6 once we get the go-ahead from the BCCI and the government so that we can seal the logistical deals. Unlike last year, bulk bookings won't be as easy this year as you will have people travelling into the country and that makes the work around bio-bubbles all the more critical," an official of one of the franchises told ANI last week.

Notably, organisers of the Caribbean Premier League (CPL) have tweaked their schedule to avoid a clash with the second leg of IPL 2021 after being requested by the BCCI.

The CPL 2021 was slated to begin from August 28 and conclude on September 19, but it will be now played between August 26 and September 15.

(With ANI inputs)

By Salman Anjum - 28 Jun, 2021

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