In a latest development, the International Cricket Council (ICC) has zeroed in on Sri Lanka and United Arab Emirates as two back-up countries for the next year's T20 World Cup if India is unable to host it.

Last week, the ICC confirmed that India will host the 2021 edition of T20 World Cup in October-November while Australia will stage the same event in 2022, in lieu of its rights in 2020. The 2020 edition of the T20 World Cup was postponed due to the Coronavirus pandemic.

As per a report published in ESPNcricinfo, "Sri Lanka and the UAE are among the back-up venues for the 2021 men's T20 World Cup, should the Covid-19 pandemic make India an untenable host."

Moreover, it is a standard protocol to have back-up venues listed for any global event.

"Identifying potential back-up venues is standard practice for every ICC event, but it takes on extra significance in this time because of the nature of the pandemic.

"India is currently the third-worst-hit country in the world in terms of cases, according to most data studies, with over 2 million cases so far and over 45,000 deaths.

"The current situation has forced the BCCI to relocate the IPL to the UAE, and only tentative plans are in place for the domestic season," the website further stated.

No one in the BCCI is willing to comment on this matter at the moment as there is still more than a year to go for the showpiece tournament.