Reports: BCCI To Defer Decision On Hosting T20 World Cup In India; Contingency Plans For IPL 2021 2.0

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is set to defer the decision on the call to move the T20 World Cup out of India for now.

With the second wave of the Wuhan virus wreaking havoc in the country and the 14th season of the IPL getting suspended due to multiple Covid positive cases, question marks have been raised on the viability of staging the quadrennial event in India.

The United Arab Emirates has been kept as a backup venue but the BCCI has decided that it will not give up on hosting the T20 World Cup in India just yet and that it will be taking a late call after observing the covid situation in the country in the coming months.

The BCCI will convey its decision to the ICC during the governing body’s meeting on June 1. The board itself has convened a Special General Meeting on May 29 where the aforementioned issue and other important matters like Women’s cricket, FTP will be discussed.

That said, with the IPL getting postponed due to multiple bio-bubble breaches, BCCI’s case of hosting the T20 World Cup in India has weakened significantly.

“Realistically, things haven’t improved. We know that.But there is time for the World Cup. We will not close the option of keeping it in India.” said a BCCI official as quoted by Hindustan Times.

BCCI To Stage IPL 2021 2.0 in the UAE??

While we still don’t know whether the T20 WC will take place in India or not, one thing is certain that the second phase of IPL 2021 will not be played in the country.

The UAE could well become IPL’s adopted home for the second year in a row. According to a Hindustan Times report, the BCCI is currently in talks with the Emirates Cricket Board.

“We are trying our best to complete IPL. We don’t know about the World Cup yet. But IPL could go to the UAE,” said another board official.

The September-October window is likely to be the slot that the BCCI will be targeting. But there are several hurdles to cross. The Indian Team will be in the UK till September 15 and the T20 World Cup is scheduled to start in mid-October.

Factor in the mandatory quarantine, national commitments of overseas players, and the fact the there is a distinct possibility that the T20 World Cup could well move to the Emirates which will also involve warm-up games, the road to completing the IPL is a bumpy one for the BCCI.

Another option that has emerged is taking the IPL to England, one that has been fuelled by Surrey, Warwickshire, and the MCC’s proposal to the ECB that they would like to host IPL games at Lord’s, Oval, and Edgbaston.

But the BCCI officials say that the window is too short for the UK IPL.

The 14th season of the IPL was postponed after just 29 matches following multiple Covid cases across four different franchises.

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