T20 World Cup 2021 to begin on October 17 in the UAE

The 2021 T20 World Cup will be hosted in the UAE from October 17, with the final scheduled on November 14. According to ESPNCricinfo, the 16-team tournament will start after the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021 final, which is expected to be held on October 15.

The hosting rights of the T20 World Cup remain with the BCCI. Although the Indian cricket board hasn’t officially confirmed the development or written to the ICC, it’s believed the tournament will be played in the middle east with the UAE and Oman as hosts. Earlier, there were reports of the tournament potentially being held in Sri Lanka.

T20 World Cup 2021 is set to take place in Oman and UAE. Oman will host the first round and UAE will host from Super 12. (Source - Espn Cricinfo)

— Johns. (@CricCrazyJohns) June 25, 2021

The 2021 T20 World Cup format

The first round of the T20 World Cup will see 12 matches, comprising the eight teams – Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Ireland, Netherlands, Namibia, Scotland and Papua New Guinea. Four of them will progress to the Super 12s, where they will join the other eight teams. The matches for Round 1 won’t be played at the major venues.

The T20 World Cup’s Super 12-leg will comprise 30 matches and will be played at the three major UAE venues – Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Sharjah. This leg of the World Cup is scheduled to start on October 24. The teams will be split into two groups, with two from each making it to the semi-finals, followed by the final.

With the first round being hosted in smaller venues in the UAE and Oman, the BCCI will ensure that post-IPL, the grounds of Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Sharjah will have enough time to have fresh pitches for the Super 12s.

India plays it safe with the T20 World Cup due to COVID-19 times

The BCCI had been granted time till the end of June to let ICC know where they would host the T20 World Cup. The COVID-19 pandemic saw the 2020 edition of the T20 World Cup that was supposed to be held in Australia being postponed to 2022.

Just when things seemed slightly better in India, the IPL 2021 commenced but was suspended abruptly midway as the second wave of the pandemic wreaked havoc in the country. With the threat of a possible third wave looming large, the BCCI aren’t keen to take any more risks.

Previous T20 World Cup winners

India were the last hosts of the T20 World Cup that was played in 2016. The tournament final was played in Eden Gardens, Kolkata, where the West Indies beat England to win their second title. Here is the list of the T20 World Cup winners:

• 2007 (South Africa): India beat Pakistan in the final
• 2009 (England): Pakistan beat Sri Lanka in the final
• 2010 (West Indies): England beat Australia in the final
• 2012 (Sri Lanka): West Indies beat Sri Lanka in the final
• 2014 (Bangladesh): Sri Lanka beat India in the final
• 2016 (India): West Indies beat England in the final

6⃣6⃣6⃣6⃣#OnThisDay in 2016, Carlos Brathwaite's stunning blitz gave West Indies their second T20 World Cup title!pic.twitter.com/QjwpMXiOY2

— Wisden (@WisdenCricket) April 3, 2020