Picture Credit: ICC and Oman Cricket
Apart from organising the remainder of IPL 2021, a tough task lies ahead of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and that is the hosting of the T20 World Cup 2021. The mega event was slated to take place in India during the October-November window, however, BCCI's plan has dealt a severe blow following the second wave of coronavirus pandemic.
The outbreak not only forced the postponement of IPL 2021 but also put the clouds of uncertainty for every following event that has been slated to take place in India. One such among them is the World T20 for which the BCCI had even shortlisted nine venues in India before the second wave of COVID-19 poured cold waters on the plan.
As things stand now, the apex cricket body of India has taken one month's time from the International Cricket Council (ICC) to decide on the venue for the tournament. It is very likely that the tournament will be shifted to UAE in case it is moved out of India. However, ICC and BCCI are also contemplating Oman as a possible host for the event. The new venue would be in consideration because UAE only has three stadiums - Sharjah, Abu Dhabi and Dubai - that might not suffice for as many as 16 teams participating at the world event.
Oman shows its interest to host World T20
In a recent statement given to the media, Oman Cricket chief Pankaj Khimji has said that the country would be happy to host the mega event. He also highlighted the fact that it has already hosted limited-overs matches at the highest level and has got the approval of ICC to host the Test matches.
“The BCCI and the ICC need to take a call first on this issue. We would be delighted to be a potential venue for it,” Khimji told TOI on Friday, adding, “Our facilities have the approval of the ICC to stage T20Is, ODIs and we also got the ICC green signal to host Test matches this year,” he added.