T20 World Cup To Be Shifted From India To UAE: BCCI President Sourav Ganguly

Mumbai: The T20 World Cup scheduled to be held in India later this year is being shifted to UAE owing to the health and safety concerns posed by COVID-19, BCCI President Sourav Ganguly told PTI on Monday.

“We have officially informed the ICC that the T20 World Cup may be shifted to the United Arab Emirates. The details are being worked out.”

Earlier this month, ICC had given BCCI a deadline till June 28 to inform whether it is in a position to conduct the showpiece event in the country.

But top BCCI officials on Monday said that even though the board will have the hosting rights, the tournament will now take place in four cities – Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Sharjah, and Muscat – from October 17 to November 14.

Due to the COVID-19 situation in our country, we may move the tournament to the UAE. We are monitoring the situation closely, the health and safety of the players are paramount, we will take a final decision soon,” BCCI secretary Jay Shah had earlier told ANI.

Meanwhile, the 14th edition of the Indian Premier League will also conclude in the United Arab Emirates. The IPL is scheduled to start on September 19 and the final is to be played on October 15. This would also mean that it is just before the T20 World Cup.

And it has seen franchises sweating over whether they will be provided with overseas players. Some franchises are planning to have their executives in the UAE after July 6 to finalize the logistics while keeping a close eye on the COVID-19 protocols.

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