T20 World Cup 2021: ICC to take final call on venue on June 1

The International Cricket Council (ICC) will finalize the decision of the ICC T20 World Cup 2021 when the officials meet at an executive board meeting on June 1. India, the chosen venue for the tournament, is currently battling the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. There are already talks going around to shifting the tournament to the UAE.

UAE had successfully pulled off the 13^th edition of the Indian Premier League. They are frontrunners this time too if the venue is changed for the T20 World Cup to be held in India from October 18 to November 15. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has scheduled a Special General Meeting (SGM) on May 29, just two days prior to the meeting. The objective of the meeting is to discuss all possible options and probabilities before taking a call on the T20 World Cup. Michael Hussey recently shared his views on the same about how it’s difficult for India to host the event.

Speaking to Cricbuzz about the possible option of the tournament being moved to UAE, an informed source said:

“The ICC is not unaware of the situation but one cannot speculate on what will be the decision on June 1. One has to wait and see.”

ICC to also give verdict on ‘playing conditions’ for the WTC final

India and New Zealand are the two finalists for the World Test Championship final (WTC) and are currently awaiting a response from ICC on the matter regarding the possibility of the drawn match or a washed-out game. There is still no clear stance from ICC who are still pondering over the issue.

“Since this is not another bilateral series Test match, we need to know about the playing conditions. There are three basic pointers that we need to know,” a senior BCCI official privy to the Indian team’s requirements said on conditions of anonymity. “What happens in case of a draw, tie, or an eventual wash-out without at least one innings of both teams not being completed?” he added.

The WTC final will be played at the Rose Bowl in Southampton on June 18. The ICC and ECB have granted permission to 4000 people to watch the action live from the stadium.