BCCI officials to visit Oman, UAE on July 16, 17 to review preparations for T20 World Cup

As the T20 World Cup is all set to kick-start from October 17 in Oman and the UAE, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) officials on Friday will head to the Gulf countries to review preparations for the marquee tournament. As per ANI, BCCI officials will be visiting Oman and Dubai on July 16 and 17 to inspect the grounds and to discuss important issues regarding the T20 World Cup.

Recently, the ICC had revealed the venues where the T20 World Cup matches are scheduled to take place at and named Dubai International Stadium, the Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi, the Sharjah Stadium, and the Oman Cricket Academy Ground in the list. 

BCCI officials to visit Oman, UAE ahead of T20 WC

"We are going to Oman tomorrow, we will be visiting the venue and also will discuss the travel plan of teams as Qualifiers are to be held there, the day after tomorrow will be in Dubai to have a meeting with ICC. ECB officials will also be there. We do not want to leave any stone unturned due to the COVID-19 pandemic. That's why everything will be taken care of. Bio bubble, training, accommodation are some issues that need to be discussed. We Will also discuss whether media will be allowed or not," the source said as reported by the ANI.

The first round of the tournament, comprising the eight qualifying teams, will now be split between Oman and UAE. Four of these teams will then progress to the Super 12s round where they'll join the eight automatic qualifiers.

T20 World Cup Schedule

The 2021 men's T20 World Cup is slated to kick off from October 17 in the UAE two days after the Indian Premier League (IPL) final. The final of the T20 World Cup is scheduled for November 14. As per the ICC, round 1, which will include 12 matches, will comprise eight teams from which four (top two from each group) would qualify for the Super 12s.

Four teams from this lot of eight - Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Ireland, Netherlands, Scotland, Namibia, Oman, Papua New Guinea - will then progress to the Super 12s, joining the top eight ranked T20I teams. The Super 12s phase, comprising 30 games, is slated to begin from October 17 across three venues in the UAE - Dubai, Abu Dhabi, and Sharjah. After the Super 12s phase, there will be three playoff games - the two semi-finals and the final.

The upcoming edition will be the first Men's T20 World Cup played since 2016 when West Indies beat England in the final.

(Image Credits: PTI)