The ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2021 will kick off on October 17, in the UAE, with the finals scheduled on November 14.
The second phase of IPL 2021 starts from September 19, in the UAE. As reported by ESPNCricinfo, the IPL players will head to join their respective national teams after the completion of IPL 2021 as the T20 World Cup Round 1 starts just a couple of days after the finals.
T20 World Cup 2021 is set to start days after the IPL final, which is likely to be held on October 15 🏆
DETAILS 👉 https://t.co/u8W20mvj0z pic.twitter.com/B4wQrb1wSx
— ESPNcricinfo (@ESPNcricinfo) June 25, 2021
The ICC Men’s T20 world cup was scheduled to be hosted by India. While the BCCI, hasn’t made things official, the preparations to shift the tournament in the UAE, have already begun. The spike in COVID-19 positive patients in India, has made it difficult to host the grand 16-team tournament, in the country.
The first round of the T20 World Cup will be split across two groups and will include 12 matches, comprising eight teams ( Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Ireland, Netherlands, Scotland, Namibia, Oman, Papua New Guinea), out of which four (two from each group) will qualify for Super 12s. Round 1 will be co-hosted by UAE and Oman.
The Super 12s phase will start from October 24, comprising of 30 matches. Twelve teams will be split across two groups of six each. Dubai, Abu Dhabi, and Sharjah will host the Super 12s phase, followed by two semi-finals and the final.
The BCCI is confident that the pitches offered for the Super 12s stage will be fresh, as UAE and Oman will co-host Round 1.
The ICC postponed the 2020 World Cup, originally scheduled to be held in Australia due to the COVID pandemic and decided India would host the tournament in 2021. On June 1, the ICC granted BCCI until the end of June to decide on whether India will be able to host the T20 World Cup, but as things stand, the ICC is forced to shift the tournament to UAE.