Sourav Ganguly and Jay Shah confirm BCCI’s move to host World T20 in the UAE

The 2021 edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) was always going to serve as the litmus test for the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to host the global tournament in the country, following the COVID-19 scare. While the tournament had to be postponed mid-way, due to the rising number of COVID cases, it was then rescheduled to restart in the Middle East. 

Following the same template, the BCCI’s Secretary Jay Shah has confirmed in an interview with the ANI that the BCCI are set to move the global international tournament, the World T20, to the Middle East, in October. Alongside him, BCCI’s President Sourav Ganguly also revealed that the details for the move are being chalked out.

“We have officially intimated the ICC that the T20 World Cup can be shifted to the United Arab Emirates. The details are being chalked out,” Ganguly told PTI.

"We will inform ICC today that we are shifting the T20 World Cup to UAE. The dates of the tournament, the ICC needs to decide," the BCCI Secretary told ANI.

Even though the tournament has been shifted out of the country, BCCI are set to retain its hosting rights for the tournament, in collaboration with the Emirates Cricket Board (ECB). 

The news has also been confirmed by Arun Dhumal, the BCCI Treasurer, who told Sportstar of the move to shift the global extravaganza to the UAE.

"Keeping the situation in mind, it only made sense to host the tournament in the UAE. There is Delta variant now, and obviously, there are restrictions, so we had to factor in everything," the Board treasurer Arun Dhumal told Sportstar.