Sri Lanka emerges as dark horse to host 2021 T20 World Cup

Sri Lanka has now emerged as the dark horse to host the 2021 T20 World Cup in October-November after reports surfaced that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is in talks with Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC).

Originally scheduled to be hosted in India, it was earlier reported that the BCCI had been in discussions with the Emirates Cricket Board (ECB) to host the showpiece event in the UAE.

However, with the remainder of the Indian Premier League (IPL 2021) set to be hosted in the UAE in September-October, the tired wickets in the three venues might not be conducive to hosting a World Cup.

ANI quoted a source as saying:

“See, there is no denying the fact that BCCI and ECB officials have been having discussions on taking the showpiece event to UAE with an eye on the COVID-19 situation in India. But, what also needs to be kept in mind here is that hosting the IPL would mean quite a few games, not to forget other tournaments or matches that might be held in some of the venues and tired wickets by the time of the World Cup.

“Keeping the playing conditions in mind, there have been some talks with SLC officials (on hosting the event in Sri Lanka) and just basic discussions, to be honest. Too early to get into the details, but we still have some time before we need to get back to the ICC to inform them on the situation as the BCCI will continue to have the hosting rights even if it is played outside India.”

What helps Sri Lanka’s case is the availability of more venues. The UAE has Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Sharjah as its venues, while Sri Lanka's capital Colombo alone has three stadiums, apart from several others in the rest of the island nation.

There's a possibility of adding Oman as a co-host if the tournament is staged in the UAE.

According to Cricbuzz, Oman has emerged as the potential co-host alongside UAE for the upcoming T20 World Cup.

— Mufaddal Vohra (@mufaddal_vohra) June 5, 2021

By talking to Sri Lanka, BCCI is looking to keep the options open. The Sourav Ganguly-led Indian board will also have to inform the ICC about its position regarding tax exemptions for the T20 World Cup.

“First and foremost, the BCCI needs to submit the tax exemption guarantee by June 15, and things will start rolling one after the other with the Indian board also needing to inform the ICC by June 28 about the position with regards to hosting the event in the country,” the source pointed.

BCCI to retain hosting rights even if T20 World Cup is played in Sri Lanka or UAE

Earlier, the ICC had confirmed that the BCCI would retain its T20 World Cup hosting rights even if the tournament is moved out of India.

“A final decision on the host country will be taken later this month. The Board also confirmed that the BCCI will remain the hosts of the event regardless of where the event is played,” the ICC had stated in an official release.

The 2016 T20 World Cup was hosted by India, while Sri Lanka hosted the 2012 edition of the mega event.

"BCCI to retain hosting rights even if T20 World Cup is moved out of India." - ICC (To ANI)

— CricketMAN2 (@man4_cricket) June 1, 2021