no world cup in india

Picture Credit: BCCI

The T20 World Cup scheduled in India between October 18-November 15 could move to another country if the Covid-19 situation in the country does not improve. Although BCCI hasn’t given up hope on hosting the World Cup, it has now zeroed in on the country which will host the World Cup this year if the situation doesn't improve in India. On Thursday, a BCCI official conceded the same. Dhiraj Malhotra, who is general manager for game development of the BCCI, told the BBC that the BCCI was in consultation with the ICC regarding the situation.

T20 World Cup could be moved to UAE: BCCI official

"We will be doing normal scenario, and worst case scenario, so with all that we're talking to the ICC at the moment," Malhotra told BBC. When asked which country would host the event if it did not go ahead in India, Malhotra said, "It would be the UAE. We're hoping again that it would be done by the BCCI. So, we'll take the tournament there, but it'll still be done by the BCCI."

Before the latest rise in coronavirus cases in India, BCCI had shortlisted Mumbai, New Delhi, Chennai, Kolkata, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Dharamsala, Ahmedabad and Lucknow as the nine host venues. But the severity of the second wave of infections has caused a lot of concern with India’s health infrastructure coming under a lot of strain. India set another daily record rise of cases, with 386,452 new infections. There were also 3,498 new deaths, according to the health ministry data.

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45 matches slated to be held in the tournament

There are 45 matches slated to be held in the tournament that will see the participation of 16 countries, which will include the top ten ranked nations of the world. Papua New Guinea, Ireland, Oman, the Netherlands, Namibia and Scotland will join the top teams at the World Cup.