Reports | BCCI shortlist nine venues for hosting Men’s World T20 event in October

Ahead of the World T20 event in October, according to an ESPNCricinfo report, the BCCI has shortlisted nine venues for the global T20 competition. The nine venues as per the report are - Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, Delhi, Dharamsala, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Lucknow and Mumbai - with six of the 2021 IPL venues.

In addition, three venues - Hyderabad, Lucknow and Dharamsala - who missed out on being an IPL venue this year would also form part of the nine-venue for the World T20 event. The 16-team competition, which begins in October, running till November 13 could see the final hosted in the newly inaugurated venue in Ahmedabad, which houses the largest capacity in the cricketing fraternity.

The report also added that the final decision will be in ICC’s court, with the organisation sending a team for checks, on April 26 before the tournament. While India have successfully hosted the Indian Premier League, in a rather caravan-like fashion, the ICC have a backup plan in Sri Lanka and the UAE, in case things don’t materialise in India, owing to the COVID-19 pandemic.

However, the reports also insisted that owing to the vaccination drive in the country, BCCI are confident of hosting the tournament without many worries.