Twenty20 World Cup moved from India as new host venue confirmed

The Twenty20 World Cup will be moved to the United Arab Emirates from India due to the coronavirus pandemic, the country’s cricket chief Sourav Ganguly told local media on Monday.

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The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) said it had told the world body of its decision to host the event in the UAE in October and November.

“We have officially intimated the ICC (International Cricket Council) that the T20 World Cup can be shifted to the United Arab Emirates,” Ganguly, president of the BCCI, told the Press Trust of India news agency.

He added that “the details are being chalked out”.

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BCCI vice-president Rajeev Shukla said the qualifiers may take place in Oman while the rest of the matches will be at three UAE venues including Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Sharjah.

The ICC had given the BCCI a deadline of the end of June to decide the host country for T20’s showpiece event due the Covid situation in India.

India, the world’s second most populous nation, has eased some lockdown restrictions in recent weeks as it emerges from a brutal surge in infections and deaths in April and May.

The BCCI had already moved the suspended Indian Premier League to the UAE in September-October after the T20 tournament was halted on May 4 following a number of players and team officials getting infected with Covid.

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