The 2021 T20 World Cup is being shifted to the UAE from India due to the health safety concerns amid the COVID-19 pandemic, confirms BCCI President Sourav Ganguly on Monday (June 28) to PTI.

The tournament is set to start from October 17 in the UAE, with the final for the 16-team tournament scheduled for November 14. “We have officially intimated the ICC that the T20 World Cup can be shifted to the United Arab Emirates. The details are being chalked out,” Ganguly said.

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At the start of June, ICC had given BCCI a four-week window to decide and inform whether they could host the major ICC tournament considering the COVID-19 situation in the country.

The Indian Premier League (IPL) 2020 was played in UAE, and the second phase of the cash-rich event has already been shifted to UAE for September-October. The first half of the IPL 14 was played in India but multiple bio-bubbles were breached.

The Round 1 of the 2021 T20 World Cup will include 12 matches with eight teams divided into two groups. The top two from each group would qualify for the Super 12s. 

The Super 12s phase will have 30 matches, scheduled to start from October 24. There will be two groups of six each, and the matches are going to be played at three venues in the UAE - Dubai, Abu Dhabi, and Sharjah. 

(With PTI Inputs)