The T20 World Cup, originally scheduled to be staged in India, has been shifted to the UAE. This was confirmed by BCCI secretary Jay Shah, on Monday, 28 June. However, India will continue to have hosting without any major issues rights.
The qualifying round is likely to be held in Oman to keep the UAE pitches fresh for the Super 12. Eight teams are divided across two groups, and the top two teams from each group will qualify for the next round.
Dubai, Sharjah and Abu Dhabi will play host to the matches slated to take place in the UAE.
Earlier, the remaining matches of the Indian Premier League 2021 were also shifted to the UAE. With India still struggling to cope up with the Covid-19 crisis, conducting such a major-scale tournament is fraught with risk.
Further, many countries have banned international travel to India. The UAE hosted the 2020 edition of the IPL, without any biosecure bubble breaches. Even the PSL 2021 was completed in Abu Dhabi without any major hiccups.
The ICC is yet to decide the final fixtures, though the competition is likely to commence on 17 October, as per some sources.