The World Cup - comprising 16 countries - is tentatively scheduled to take place between late October with the final on November 14.
The suspension of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021 due to the rise of COVID-19 cases among players despite being in 'bio-bubble' has raised a lot of questions - especially if India is capable of hosting the T20 World Cup.
Many have even questioned BCCI asking if the postponement of the IPL will have an impact on the men's T20 World Cup, scheduled in India later this year?
While the World Cup - comprising 16 countries - is tentatively scheduled to take place between late October with the final on November 14, it is clearly too early to say about a new venue.
According to ESPNcricinfo, ICC continues to monitor the situation in India and the UAE has been slotted as a backup venue as of now.
The BCCI had recently shortlisted nine venues in India, which were proposed to the ICC. An ICC team of experts from biosafety were scheduled to visit India from April 26 to do an inspection. However, the plan has been shelved due to the travel ban imposed by the UAE to and from India.
The BCCI was apparently utilizing the IPL as a dry run for the T20 World Cup. They had all eight teams play without any home advantage with two venues in operation at a time and the tournament split into four legs.
However, concerns among overseas players and teams in the wake of the 2nd wave of COVID-19 saw many cricketers return back even before the suspension was announced.
Several countries even banned travelers, including their own citizens, if they were traveling from India, in addition to imposing stiff quarantine restrictions.
The ICC will be keen to avoid such a scenario. On March 5, the then ICC CEO Manu Sawhney had pointed out that the risks associated with organising a 16-team World Cup were "exponentially larger" compared to the T20 franchise leagues.
On Tuesday, a senior BCCI official said the T20 World Cup was "too far away" to make a call about a change in venue. The status of the pandemic in India will be the key factor.
Normally, the ICC finalises venues at least a year in advance, however, now they will need to keep the COVID-19 situation in mind. The other key question for the ICC will also be the crowd at stadiums.
The BCCI has said that even if the tournament is moved to the UAE, it will want to run the event, which would mean that if crowds were allowed, the ticketing revenues will go to the Indian board.
The next formal meeting of the ICC Board is not until its annual conference in July, and it is likely the global body will ask members to meet before to discuss the various options.
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