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UAE reportedly on standby to host 2021 ICC World T20 as coronavirus cases surge in India

The UAE is, reportedly, being considered as backup hosts for this year’s T20 World Cup with COVID-19 cases seeing a huge surge in India.

By Sritama Panda | Apr 27, 2021 | 2 Min Read

The United Arab Emirates is, reportedly, being considered as backup hosts for this year’s T20 World Cup with COVID-19 cases seeing a huge surge in India. The much-awaited ICC event, which was originally scheduled to be held in the October-November window last year in Australia, is expected to be hosted in October 2021 in India.

According to a report by Daily Mail which quoted ICC sources, the governing council is ‘monitoring the situation closely’ and also have been in regular contact with the BCCI on the same.

While the report also suggest that Sri Lanka was also considered as one of the alternatives for the ICC event, the UAE is still the preferred option given its small population. Moreover, the UAE were hosts to the IPL 2020 tournament in September-November last year.

The country hosted the entire 13th edition of BCCI’s flagship event successfully last year which saw Mumbai Indians emerge as champions for the fifth time in the IPL. While the 14th edition of the Indian Premier League is currently underway in India, some foreign recruits going back home amid the rise in COVID-19 cases and due to bio-bubble stress is not very promising for the BCCI in terms of hosting the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup.

Rise of covid-19 cases in India

Currently, as it stands, India recorded a massive 3,52,991 cases as of Sunday (April 25). While there was a dip in cases, the sudden surge has been marked by the second wave and the situation is worse than ever.

Keeping the T20 World Cup in mind, an ICC delegation is currently in India to monitor the conditions in the venues provided by the BCCI for the mega event. The BCCI have proposed nine venues for the 2021 ICC Men’s T20 world Cup, which is scheduled to start in mid-October. The final of the ICC event is scheduled to be played at the world’s largest stadium in Ahmedabad which was inaugurated in February when England and India played a Test at the venue. The stadium also hosted the 4th Test and all 5 T20Is in that series.