ICC on Tuesday confirmed that the T20 World Cup 2020 has been shifted out of India and will be held in the UAE and Oman. The tournament will begin from October 17 and the final will be played on November 14. The tournament was originally set to be staged in India, but had to be shifted, given the consequences of the second wave of Covid-19 on the country. The BCCI will remain the hosts of the event, which will now be held across four venues - Dubai International Stadium, the Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi, the Sharjah Stadium, and the Oman Cricket Academy Ground.

The first round of the tournament, comprising the eight qualifying teams, will now be split between Oman and UAE. Four of these teams will then progress to the Super 12s round where they'll join the eight automatic qualifiers. The upcoming edition will be the first Men's T20 World Cup played since 2016 when West Indies beat England in the final in India. The eight teams competing in the preliminary stage are Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Ireland, Netherlands, Scotland, Namibia, Oman and Papua New Guinea, before the play-off stage and the Final on 14 November."Our priority is to deliver the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2021 safely, in full and in its current window," said acting ICC CEO Geoff Allardice. "Whilst we are incredibly disappointed not to be hosting the event in India, the decision gives us the certainty we need to stage the event in a country that is a proven international host of multi-team events in a bio-secure environment."We will work closely with the BCCI, the Emirates Cricket Board and Oman Cricket to ensure fans can enjoy a wonderful celebration of cricket.'