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Picture Credit: BCCI

In the virtual apex council meeting on Friday, BCCI has picked nine venues to host the T20 World Cup scheduled for October-November. These will be: Mumbai, New Delhi, Chennai, Kolkata, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Dharamsala, Ahmedabad and Lucknow. The final has been allotted to the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad while Mumbai and Kolkata will reportedly host the semi-finals. The number of venues is two more than what India had used for the 2016 edition.

The T20 World Cup will see the entry of three new venues. Nagpur and Mohali have been left out this time and instead Chennai, Ahmedabad, Hyderabad and Lucknow have been added.

Preparations shall be on for T20 World Cup 2021

"The nine venues have been informed and it was again discussed that preparations should continue for the showpiece event with an eye on the COVID-19 situation and a call will only be taken closer to the event. It is too early to imagine what can or will happen in October-November with regards to the Coronavirus situation. But preparations shall be on," sources in the know of developments informed.

Hosting the World Cup will be a challenging task for BCCI

India is now the second most affected country due to coronavirus in the world as it recently surpassed Brazil, Russia, Italy and the UK, with its total cases standing at 14,526,609. The Covid-19 pandemic continues to disrupt normal life and it remains to be seen if the International Cricket Council approves of the venues shortlisted by BCCI. The BCCI had initially planned of keeping the event to six venues but after several state boards expressed interest in hosting the WC games, BCCI reached out to the ICC if it can add more to the list.

Plan B if situation doesn't improve

It is understood that the BCCI will also present a Plan B to the ICC if the coronavirus situation doesn't improve in India. This involves keeping the venues to not more than four, which will be decided at a later stage.