Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) chief Sourav Ganguly on Monday confirmed that the upcoming Twenty20 World Cup, scheduled to be hosted in India, will be moved to the UAE due to safety concerns posed by the COVID-19 pandemic. 

“We have officially intimated the ICC that the T20 World Cup can be shifted to the United Arab Emirates. The details are being chalked out,” Ganguly told PTI.

The BCCI was given a four-week window by the International Cricket Council (ICC) earlier this month to determine whether India would be in a position to host the showpiece event considering the COVID-19 situation in the country. The event was slated to be held in the country around October-November.

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PTI was first to report on May 4 that the tournament was being shifted to the UAE.

This comes after the 2021 edition of BCCI’s own marquee event, the Indian Premier League (IPL), was forced to be shifted to the UAE following its suspension due to the explosion of cases in India in the second wave of COVID-19. 

It will also be hosted in the UAE around September-October.