ICC gives India, BCCI June 28 deadline to decide on hosting T20 World Cup, WTC to continue

BCCI President Sourav Ganguly and Secretary Jay Shah had a virtual meeting with the ICC Board over hosting the upcoming T20 World Cup. Uncertainty has been looming over the host of the T20 World Cup as India is witnessing the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. Recently, the second wave of COVID-19 forced BCCI to suspend the IPL 2021 in the middle of the tournament after multiple cases of COVID-19 reported among various franchises. However, the BCCI recently announced that the IPL 2021 Phase 2 will be taking place in UAE and the Indian Board is looking to lock the September-October schedule. 

ICC Gives June 28 Deadline To BCCI To Take The Final Decision Over T20 World Cup

The ICC Board met virtually on Tuesday with India being represented by BCCI president Sourav Ganguly and secretary Jay Shah. The T20 World Cup is due in October-November this year. The BCCI sought a month's time and the ICC board unanimously agreed to give that for a detailed assessment of the health situation in the country, which has been left battered by a second wave of the raging pandemic.

"Yes, the ICC board has agreed to BCCI's request and they will have time till June 28 to decide on hosting the T20 World Cup in India. They will come back to the board next month with a concrete plan," a source close to the ICC Board told PTI on Tuesday.

If the BCCI is unable to host the event in India given the looming threat of a third wave of the pandemic, the tournament will shift to the UAE after it gets done with hosting the IPL, which finishes likely on October 10. BCCI may retain the hosting rights in that scenario. 

'BCCI keen on organising T20 World Cup In India'

The BCCI is also mulling a couple of more windows in 2022 in case October-November is not feasible in India. "The BCCI is very keen on organising a global tournament in India. They don't want to let it go. There are two more windows that are being explored by the ICC Board. One is February 2022 but then it could coincide with ICC Women's 50 over World Cup. So this could be a bit tricky," an ICC board member said as reported by PTI. 

"The other option that BCCI has is to try out in June just after the next IPL but then you have to find a cluster of cities where monsoons won't hit at that time. Also in four months, can you have another T20 World Cup in Australia?," the ICC board member questioned.

It is also learnt that BCCI has stated that the waiver of Rs 900 crore tax for the said event is being discussed with the government and the board will be kept updated about any developments.

(Image Credits: BCCI/ICC)

(Story Inputs: PTI)