UAE, Oman to host the T20 World Cup: Details here
In a massive development, the upcoming edition of the men's T20 World Cup will take place in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Oman. The International Cricket Council (ICC) informed about the same on Tuesday. As per the announcement, the tournament will run from October 17 to November 14 across four venues in the two nations. Here are further details.
"The BCCI is looking forward to hosting the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2021 tournament in UAE and Oman," said BCCI president Sourav Ganguly. He added, "We would have been happier hosting it in India but considering the uncertainty due to the COVID-19 situation and the importance of a world championship, the BCCI will now continue to host this tournament in UAE and Oman."
The T20 World Cup was supposed to be held in India but has been shifted to the two nations amid the coronavirus pandemic. Notably, the UAE is also due to host the remainder of 2021 Indian Premier League season.
The first round of the T20 World Cup will include 12 matches. This will comprise eight teams out of which four (top two from each group) would qualify for the Super 12s. These eight teams are Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Ireland, Netherlands, Scotland, Namibia, Oman, and Papua New Guinea. Four of them will join the top eight ranked T20I teams.
Dubai International Stadium, the Sheikh Zayed Stadium, the Sharjah Stadium, and the Oman Cricket Academy Ground are the four venues, which will host the T20 WC. The first round, comprising the eight qualifying teams, will be split between Oman and the UAE. Meanwhile, the four teams proceeding to the Super 12 round will be joined by the eight automatic qualifiers.
Earlier this month, the ICC had stated that a final decision on the venue for the T20 World Cup will be taken soon. The global cricket body continued to explore options in the UAE, having hinted at including "another venue in the Middle East". Notably, the ICC also clarified that the BCCI will retain the hosting rights regardless of the venue.
The T20 World Cup is set to be held for the first time in over five years. The last edition of the mega ICC tournament took place in 2016 in India. West Indies were crowned champions after beating England in the final. The grand finale turned out to be a blockbuster as Carlos Brathwaite staged a dramatic win after hitting four consecutive sixes.
