T20 World Cup would move to UAE with hosting rights staying with BCCI: GM Dhiraj Malhotra

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) could move this year's T20 World Cup to the United Arab Emirates if the COVID-19 crisis does not subside in India.

Amid the second wave of the COVID-19 crisis in India, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) plans to shift the T20 World Cup - scheduled between October 18-November 15 - to the United Arab Emirates in case the pandemic situation does not subside in India. The governing International Cricket Council (ICC) said this month it was sticking to hosting the event in India but had backup plans, without specifying an alternative location. The BCCI is still holding out hope of staging the World Cup as planned but confirmed the UAE will step in as hosts should the COVID-19 situation fail to improve. “It’s too early to say what will happen. But the contingency plan is that it would go to UAE with the hosting rights staying with BCCI,” Dhiraj Malhotra, GM, BCCI and the tournament director of the World Cup said.