Confident that T20 World Cup will go ahead in India as planned despite IPL 2021 suspension: BCCI official

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is confident that the 2021 T20 World Cup, set to take place in India later this year, will go ahead as planned despite IPL 2021 succumbing to the impact of COVID-19.

On Wednesday, a board official said preparations are ongoing for the multi-nation tournament.

He added that the BCCI is eyeing some backup venues within the country to manage the competition, even if the health crisis continues in the coming months.

"We are confident that the situation will improve in the coming days and the World Cup would go ahead in India as planned. We have zeroed in on nine venues and preparations are on and considering that we have quite a few more venues across the country, we can prepare back up venues within the country itself so that we do not burden the health infrastructure for a particular state or another in the eventuality that the situation has not returned to normal by the time of the showpiece event," the BCCI official told ANI.

The second wave of the pandemic has ravaged India, with new cases touching record numbers.

After more than three weeks of seamless cricket, the virus also breached IPL 2021's much-vaunted bio-secure bubble, leading to its indefinite postponement.

UPDATE: The Indian Premier League Governing Council (IPL GC) and Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) in an emergency meeting has unanimously decided to postpone IPL 2021 season with immediate effect.Details - https://t.co/OgYXPj9FQy pic.twitter.com/lYmjBId8gL

— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) May 4, 2021

The development also prompted calls to host the rest of the IPL season and the T20 World Cup in the UAE, the venue of the successful IPL 2020.

But then hosting the IPL and a global tournament, involving 16 nations and over 40 matches, at short notice, especially given the threat that COVID-19 still poses, would be asking too much of the Emirates.

Expect decision on T20 World Cup by July: BCCI official

#IPL2021 : “Remaining 31 matches will be completed whenever we can. So, matches will resume from where we left this year. We have to look at a window, before the ICC T20 World Cup or after the World Cup”.- IPL chairman Brijesh Patel to @CNNnews18

— Thusi (@thusi_c) May 5, 2021

The BCCI official also confirmed that a decision on the T20 World Cup will be taken latest by July.

“We’re monitoring the situation and wait and watch is the best description at this stage. We probably wouldn’t go much beyond July as it’s a World Cup and they can’t be pulled off in a matter of weeks!” added the BCCI source.

The BCCI has also hinted at a September window to complete the remainder of the IPL 2021.

However, with some bilateral series already lined up and the T20 World Cup covering most of October-November, it will be interesting to see how the authorities squeeze in another fixture without affecting the health of players.

Who should open the batting for 🇮🇳 with Rohit Sharma at the T20 World Cup later this year? 🤔🏆#TeamIndia #India #T20WorldCup pic.twitter.com/CNhKG3Aih1

— Sportskeeda India (@Sportskeeda) May 5, 2021