T20 World Cup not in India, to go to UAE |
With COVID-19 engulfing the Indian Premier League (IPL) that stands suspended, it seems clear that the T20 World Cup for 2021 will be moved to the UAE from India. With a third wave feared to hit India later in the year, the BCCI acknowledged that none of the participating teams would be “comfortable” coming to India. However, the final decision will be taken later. The BCCI will remain the host of the tournament. It is learned that even the Indian cricket board understands the complexities of holding the tournament in India. The UAE is the top contender to conduct the tournament. With daily over 300 thousand new cases in India, the ICC is unlikely to take a risk with the safety of international cricket teams. Most of the top nations do not wish to tour India within the next six months unless the situation comes to normalcy. The players would be wary to travel in the middle of another surge. Nations like Australia, England and New Zealand are almost certain to have travel advisories in place. One of the biggest reasons for conducting the tournament in the UAE is that it can be kept to three grounds — Sharjah, Dubai and Abu Dhabi, and there is no air travel. There is an ICC meeting in June where a final decision will be taken but retaining the tournament in India after the cancellation of IPL seems far-fetched at this point.
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