The venue for ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2021 has been shifted to the United Arab Emirates and Oman, as per an announcement by the International Cricket Council (ICC) on Tuesday.
The tournament is scheduled to be held from October 17 to November 14.
“The tournament was originally set to be staged in India, but had to be shifted, given the consequences of the second wave of Covid-19 on the country,” ICC said in a statement.
“Our priority is to deliver the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2021 safely, in full and in its current window,” said acting ICC CEO Geoff Allardice.
“Whilst we are incredibly disappointed not to be hosting the event in India, the decision gives us the certainty we need to stage the event in a country that is a proven international host of multi-team events in a bio-secure environment.”
The first round of the tournament, comprising the eight qualifying teams, will now be split between Oman and UAE.
The eight teams competing in the preliminary stage are Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Ireland, Netherlands, Scotland, Namibia, Oman and Papua New Guinea.
Four of these teams will then progress to the Super 12s round where they will join the eight automatic qualifiers.
