BCCI President Sourav Ganguly on Monday confirmed that the T20 World Cup scheduled to take place in India later this year is now being shifted to the UAE owing to the health safety concerns posed by Covid-19.
Ending weeks of speculation surrounding the mega-event in October-November, Ganguly told PTI, “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.”
“The decision was taken keeping health safety concerns of all stakeholders in mind,” he added.
The BCCI will, however, remain the hosts of the showpiece.
The former Indian captain also informed that October 17 has not been finalised as the start date of the tournament yet.
“We will be able to finalise itinerary details in some days. October 17 start hasn’t yet been finalised.”
Even an ICC spokesperson confirmed that the global body is yet to zero in on a final schedule.
The ICC, at the start of the month, had given BCCI a four-week window to decide and inform whether India could host the marquee event considering the Covid-19 situation in the country.
BCCI secretary Jay Shah, in a letter to all state units, said that the decision was taken keeping in mind that “safety of players and other stakeholders is of paramount importance...”
Shah also wrote that “it was not an easy decision and we mulled over it for months, constantly keeping an eye on Covid situation all along.”
“However with the second wave causing such devastation, the decision ultimately boiled down to the safety and well being of the players and organizers,” he admitted.
“There is nothing more that we could have wanted than to host this prestigious tournament in India, but it was not to be.”
It was a foregone conclusion that India will find it difficult to host a 16-country tournament across nine cities with so many layers of health security concerns being there.
The ICC had already started its preparations and logistics for the tournament which will be held in Dubai, Sharjah and Abu Dhabi.
The qualifying round could be held in Muscat, which will give ideal time to the pitches in UAE to freshen up after 31 remaining games of IPL are held till October 15.
Once the IPL was shifted to the UAE, it was apparent that the T20 World Cup will move too given the looming concerns about a possible third wave of Covid-19 infection around that time.
Shah, in his letter, mentioned that “with its prior experience in hosting IPL in UAE, we can say with certainty that it will be hosted smoothly...”