ICC to meet on Friday to decide whether India should host T20 World Cup in 2021

The T20 World Cup 2020, which was scheduled to be played in Australia in October-November this year, was postponed to 2022 in the wake of COVID-19 pandemic. ICC announced their decision last month but didn’t specify the venues for the T20 World Cups in 2021 and 2022.

While India has been originally awarded the tournament, both India and Australia have staked a claim to stage the event in 2021. After the postponement of T20 World Cup 2020, Cricket Australia wants to redeem itself by hosting the showpiece event in 2021. However, the Indian board is not ready to give away their rights to host the T20 mega-event in 2021.

A senior BCCI official in the know of developments revealed that the Indian board, in the last meeting, have made it clear to the ICC that they’re not ready to postpone hosting rights to 2022. The postponement of the T20 World Cup in Australia this year has put both BCCI and CA in a tussle.

“We still want to host the T20 World Cup as scheduled and as per our hosting agreement with ICC in 2021. In the last meeting, we have made it clear to the ICC Board that we are not ready to postpone our hosting rights to 2022. No country will see merit in hosting two world cups in two years”, revealed the official as quoted by The Times of India.

Fate of ICC Women World Cup 2021 will also be decided

Cricket Australia chairman Earl Eddings had earlier written to the ICC saying that the board wants to host the event in late 2021 when India is scheduled to host the T20 World Cup. Cricket Australia does not want the hosting rights for this year’s tournament to be shifted all the way back to 2022.

As it had already started preparations and wouldn’t like to wait for two years, Cricket Australia have urged the ICC to let them host the T20 World Cup in October 2021. The ICC, on Friday, will meet via teleconference at 4.30 PM IST to decide on the issue. Other than this, the fate of ICC Women World Cup 2021 in New Zealand will also be decided in the meeting.

“The BCCI was originally scheduled to host the T20 World Cup in 2021 and they would like to go ahead. Another reason being, hosting a T20 World Cup in 2022 and then a 50 over global event within a gap of just one year. It would be an overkill,” an ICC board member revealed.