29 June,2021 07:11 AM IST | New Delhi | PTI
West Indies and England players battle it out during the 2016 World T20 final at Kolkata. Pic/Getty Images
The T20 World Cup scheduled to be held in India is being shifted to the United Arab Emirates owing to the health safety concerns posed by Covid-19, BCCI president Sourav Ganguly said on Monday, ending weeks of speculation surrounding the mega event in October-November.
"We have officially intimated the ICC that the T20 World Cup can be shifted to the UAE. The details are being chalked out," Ganguly said.
"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.
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Asked if October 17 has been finalised as the start date of the tournament, Ganguly said, "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 organisers," 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.
In fact, 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.
India was ravaged by the second wave in April-May with scarcity of essential medical supplies adding to the horror that unfolded with over four lakh daily cases at the peak of the crisis.
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