LONDON, June 02 (AFP): This year's men's T20 World Cup could be moved from India to the United Arab Emirates, the International Cricket Council said Tuesday.
The move appears to have been prompted by the rising number of Covid-19 cases in India, although this was not mentioned directly in a statement issued by the global governing body.
"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," the statement said.
The ICC added that a final decision on the host country for the October-November event would be taken later this month.
It also said the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) would remain the hosts of the tournament, regardless of where it is played.
The statement came just two days after Indian cricket chiefs announced that the lucrative Indian Premier League T20 franchise tournament, suspended after a new Covid-19 wave hit India, would be finished in the UAE in September and October.
Meanwhile, the BCCI said it would ask the ICC for more time to make a decision on whether India, the sport's economic powerhouse and one of the leading on-field nations, could still stage the T20 World Cup. The IPL, the world's richest cricket tournament, was half-finished when it was halted on May 4 after a number of players and team officials caught the coronavirus despite being based in bio-secure bubbles, prompting an exodus of foreign stars.
About 160,000 people have died in India since April 1 in a devastating wave.
There are fears the country could be hit by another surge later this year that may coincide with the current T20 World Cup schedule.
The BCCI said, however, that it was moving the remaining matches to the UAE -- which staged all of last year's IPL -- -- because of the monsoon season and did not mention the pandemic.
Meanwhile, the men's Cricket World Cup will once again become a 14-team tournament in 2027 and 2031, the International Cricket Council said Tuesday.
The changes were announced as the ICC, cricket's global governing body, unveiled its global schedule of events from 2024-2031.
Meanwhile, the Champions Trophy, a 'mini' World Cup last staged in 2017, when Pakistan won in England, is to be revived again in 2025 and 2029 as an event for the top-ranked eight one-day international teams. Only 10 sides contested the 2019 World Cup, won by hosts England, compared to 14 four years earlier.
But a statement issued by the ICC board said: "The ICC Men's Cricket World Cup will become a 14 team, 54-match event in 2027 and 2031, whilst the ICC Men's T20 World Cup will be expanded to a 20-team, 55-match event in 2024, 2026, 2028 and 2030." The board, however, has retained the format for the World Test Championship in the next cycle, with nine teams playing six series each to compete in the final every two years. India and New Zealand will contest the inaugural WTC final in Southampton, England, later this month.
The expanded men's World Cup, which traditionally takes place every four years, will follow the same format used for the 2003 edition when South Africa were the main hosts of a tournament won by Australia.
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