The Board of Control of Cricket in India said that UAE is the alternative venue for the T20 World Cup if the event can’t be staged in India due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
BCCI General Manager for Game Development Dhiraj Malhotra said the board will try its level best to organize the event in India but will shift base to UAE in a worst-case scenario.
“I’ve just been named one of the tournament directors, so I’m doing everything we can to make sure it happens,” Malhotra told BBC’s Stumped podcast.
“We will be doing normal scenario, and worst-case scenario, so with all that we’re talking to the ICC at the moment. It would be (shifted to) the UAE. We’re hoping again that it would be done by the BCCI. So, we’ll take the tournament there, but it’ll still be done by the BCCI,” he added.
India finds itself in the grip of COVID-19, with a daily average of 3 lakh cases in the week gone by. However, the IPL is running as per schedule within a religiously maintained bio-bubble. Although it has had its fair share of hiccups as a handful of players have withdrawn from the league mid-way to prioritise their mental health and be with their loved ones in such times of distress.
As of now, The T20 World Cup is scheduled to be played in India in October 2021.
Australia will host a T20 World Cup in 2022, postponed from last year due to the pandemic.
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