The ICC Board met virtually on Tuesday (June 1) with India being represented by BCCI president Sourav Ganguly and secretary Jay Shah.
The T20 World Cup 2021, comprising of 16 countries, is scheduled to be played in India between late October with the final on November 14. However, with the second wave of COVID-19 hitting the country badly, the International Cricket Council (ICC) has given the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) time till June 28 to take a call on whether it would host the marquee event or not.
The ICC Board met virtually on Tuesday (June 1) with India being represented by BCCI president Sourav Ganguly and secretary Jay Shah. The BCCI in the meeting has sought a month's time and the ICC unanimously agreed to it keeping the health situation of the country in mind.
Speaking to news agency ANI, BCCI President Sourav Ganguly said, "We have time till June 28 to go back to the ICC on hosting of the T20 World Cup".
If the BCCI is unable to host the event in India, the tournament will shift to the UAE after it's done hosting the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021. The ICC Board is also likely to keep Oman's Muscat as a backup venue for the preliminary round of the game.
"The ICC Board has requested management focus its planning efforts for the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2021 on the event being staged in the UAE with the possibility of including another venue in the Middle East," an ICC release said.
"A final decision on the host country will be taken later this month. The Board also confirmed that the BCCI will remain the hosts of the event regardless of where the event is played."
The ICC added, "The BCCI is very keen on organising a global tournament in India. They don't want to let it go. But if you can read between the lines it will be very difficult to hold it in India if there is a third wave at the end of September. While the cases are on the decline but still India is reporting more than 100k cases per day".
As of now, the chances of the T20 World Cup happening in India is bleak and the only option they have is to hold it in the Mumbai belt which has three grounds like Wankhede, Brabourne, and DY Patil just like the UAE.
However, the Pakistan team playing in Mumbai could be a risky proposition. The board will also need to talk to the local state government Shiv Sena on their stand on the issue.
"The only option if it happens in India is to organise Pakistan’s group matches in Ahmedabad. There is no chance of a nine-city tournament," a BCCI source said.
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