ICC World T20 2021: Is BCCI mulling to host the tournament in Sri Lanka?

Cricket fans are impatiently waiting for the ICC World T20 2021 to get started. Although there is still a long way to go for the tournament to kick off officially, there is a lot of uncertainty surrounding it.

The tournament is originally scheduled to be held in India. However, the current COVID situation in the country involving the second wave has thrown India's hosting status in jeopardy. Although there is still time to go for the tournament, health experts have predicted the third wave around that time.

As a result, the International Cricket Council is in serious discussions with the Board of Control for Cricket in India on whether it would be feasible to host the tournament in India. Meanwhile, both the bodies discuss the possibility of hosting it in the United Arab Emirates and Oman, with BCCI retaining the hosting rights.

"BCCI and ICC officials had a long meeting and discussed various issues related to hosting T20 WC. UAE was also discussed as an option. In the meeting, we discussed the team's stay and qualifiers in Oman and bio-bubble for players, as it was successful in last IPL," the source informed. But again, nothing is finalised regarding T20 World Cup. Will take a call later. As of now, can't comment much," a BCCI source was quoted as saying to ANI.

ALSO READ: ICC World T20 2021 set to be moved to UAE and Oman- Reports

Meanwhile, ANI also indicated that BCCI has supposedly opened talks with Sri Lanka if it would be expedient to host the competition in the island nation. Although UAE and Oman remain the favourites, Lanka comes into the fray because of the nature of wickets in the UAE that would be tired following the Indian Premier League 2021, likely to be played between September-October.

"See, there is no denying the fact that BCCI and ECB officials have been having discussions on taking the showpiece event to UAE with an eye on the COVID-19 situation in India. But, what also needs to be kept in mind here is that hosting the IPL would mean quite a few games, not to forget other tournaments or matches that might be held in some of the venues and tired wickets by the time of the World Cup," said a source.

"Keeping the playing conditions in mind, there have been some talks with SLC officials and just basic discussions, to be honest. Too early to get into the details, but we still have some time before we need to get back to the ICC to inform them on the situation, as the BCCI will continue to have the hosting rights even if it is played outside India," it added.

Lanka would not be a bad option for BCCI and ICC to stage the WT20 there, as the country has at least four venues that can host night matches. Furthermore, Sri Lanka Cricket has time and again offered a helping hand to BCCI for hosting the IPL 2021 remainder in the island nation.

NOTE: Asianet News humbly requests everyone to wear masks, sanitise, maintain social distancing and get vaccinated as soon as eligible. Together we can and will break the chain #ANCares #IndiaFightsCorona

• BCCI
• ICC World T20
• ICC World T20 2021
• ICC World T20 2021 host
• ICC World T20 2021 venue
• ICC World T20 host
• ICC World T20 venue
• Lanka
• Sri Lanka
• World T20
• World T20 2021
• World T20 2021 host
• World T20 2021 venue
• World T20 host
• World T20 venue
• board of control for cricket in india
• cricket
• icc
• international cricket council
• slc
• t20 world cup
• t20 world cup 2021
• t20 world cup 2021 host
• t20 world cup 2021 venue
• t20 world cup host
• t20 world cup venue