T20 World Cup 2021: Indian fans disappointed with ICC not scheduling India's games at Sharjah

The International Cricket Council, on Tuesday, revealed the schedule for the 2021 edition of the T20 World Cup. The tournament will take place from October 17 to November 14 with Oman and UAE being the co-hosts. The mega event was earlier scheduled to be held in India, but COVID-19 hassles turned out to be a roadblock and the T20 WC had to be shifted.

The World Cup will start with the Round 1 matches, comprising eight teams, divided into two groups. While Sri Lanka, Ireland, Netherlands and Namibia form one group, Bangladesh, Scotland, Oman and Papua New Guinea feature in the other group. Round 1 will be followed by the Super 12 matches. The final is scheduled for November 14 in Dubai.

India will begin their campaign against Pakistan on October 24 in Dubai. Pakistan are yet to beat the Men in Blue in the T20 WC thus far. They last faced in 2016 at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata. India will then face New Zealand and Afghanistan followed by the qualifiers on November 5 and November 8. The event has every ingredient to be an absolute cracker.

India fans not happy with T20 World Cup schedule

In the meantime, the Indian fans aren’t happy with the scheduling of the games. The fans reckoned that the ICC should have scheduled India’s games in Sharjah. The pitch in Sharjah is known as a batter’s paradise. A few games of the 2021 Indian Premier League were held in Sharjah and the games turned out to be high-scoring.

The short boundaries didn’t make life easier for the bowlers either. Scores in excess of 200 weren’t deemed safe as well. In one of the games, Rajasthan Royals chased down 224 with three balls to spare after Rahul Tewatia’s heroics. Mayank Agarwal’s 50-ball 106 had gone in vain back then.

Sharjah will be hosting a total of 11 matches in the tournament. Earlier it was decided that Oman will host six games in Round 1. BCCI secretary Jay Shah talked about Oman being the co-host. The Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi and Dubai International Stadium are the other two venues.

Here’s how the netizens reacted

There is no match in sharjah for team india 💔

— × dhivakar vj × (@itz_dhivakar17) August 17, 2021

India doesn't have match in Sharjah 🤦‍♂️😔😏

— Sachin Sharma (@9SACHINSHARMA) August 17, 2021

No Match at Sharjah for India
Is this +ve or -ve? pic.twitter.com/0bxCMB8mnC

— Mersal (@Mersal02116067) August 17, 2021

India isn't having any matches in Sharjah

— Name cannot be blank (@GandharParte) August 17, 2021

No Sharjah matches. Hard to see Samson making it now.

— Manya (@CSKian716) August 17, 2021

India will be playing 4 matches in Dubai & 1 match in Abu Dhabi in T20 World Cup 2021 .. India will not play any of their group matches in Sharjah .. #T20WorldCup #T20WC2021

— Bad Karma 🇮🇳 (@Mrigank96046592) August 17, 2021

Dear @ICC why India will not playing at Sharjah 😟 #t20worldcup2021 pic.twitter.com/HOJpJIhbgo

— Manish Sahu (@ManishS02802082) August 17, 2021

India not playing at Sharjah, so won't miss Sanju Samson as much 😉

— Udit (@udit_buch) August 17, 2021

India will be playing 4 games at Dubai and 1 game at Abu Dhabi. No game at Sharjah in #T20WorldCup2021.#TeamIndia

— Diwakar Kumar¹⁸ (@diwakarkumar47) August 17, 2021

No games in Sharjah for India. Wow! 🔥🔥

— Abhishek Hanbar (@abhi_ph17) August 17, 2021