ICC gives BCCI till June 28 to decide on hosting the T20 World Cup: Reports
The International Cricket Council (ICC) has given the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) till June 28 to decide whether they can host the T20 World Cup in India as the threat of the COVID-19 virus looms large. ICC stakeholders met with BCCI officials Jay Shah and Sourav Ganguly virtually on June 1 to discuss the issue.
The global T20 event is scheduled to take place between October and November this year. As per the PTI, the global body has accepted BCCI's request to give them a month's time to assess the COVID-19 situation in the country before taking a final call on the venue of the T20 World Cup.
“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.
The ICC T20 World Cup is expected to take place towards the end of the year
On May 29, Sourav Ganguly told BCCI members that they would seek additional time from the ICC to assess the conditions and see if India is capable of hosting the tournament.
The country is currently going through its second phase of the COVID-19 pandemic. As per medical experts, India could experience a third wave during the winter when the T20 World Cup is scheduled to take place.
The BCCI has proposed nine venues to the ICC to host the T20 World Cup. A team from the global body was due to travel to India in April to inspect the venues. However, this has now been postponed due to the ongoing COVID-19 crisis in the country.
The BCCI and IPL governing council decided to indefinitely suspend the Indian Premier League (IPL 2021) midway through the season on May 4 after several cases of COVID-19 in the tournament's bio-bubble emerged.
The remainder of the tournament will now reportedly take place in the UAE between September and October.