T20 World Cup 2021 to Kick Off on October 17 in UAE, Final on November 14: Report

New Delhi, June 25: The 2021 men's T20 World Cup is slated to kick off from October 17 in the UAE two days after the Indian Premier League (IPL) final.

According to a report in ESPNcricinfo, the final of the T20 World Cup is scheduled for November 14.

ANI had earlier reported that the first game on resumption of IPL will be played on September 19 while the final will take place on October 15. The cash-rich league was suspended in May first week after several COVID-19 cases were reported in the bio-bubble.

The upcoming T20 World Cup will be a 16-team tournament. The showpiece event was slated to be played in India but there have been talks of shifting the tournament to the UAE. As per the report, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is yet to write to the International Cricket Council (ICC) officially.

"Round 1, which will include 12 matches, will comprise eight teams from which four (top two from each group) would qualify for the Super 12s," ESPNcricinfo reports states. T20 World Cup to be Played in UAE from October 17- November 14 2021: Reports.

"Four team from this lot of eight - Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Ireland, Netherlands, Scotland, Namibia, Oman, Papua New Guinea - will then progress to the Super 12s, joining the top eight ranked T20I teams," the report further read.

The Super 12s phase, comprising 30 games, is slated to begin from October 24 across three venues in the UAE - Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Sharjah. After the Super 12s phase, there will be three playoff games - the two semi-finals and the final.

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

The ICC Board had also requested management focus on its planning efforts for the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2021 on the event being staged in the UAE with the possibility of including another venue in the Middle East.

"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 said in an official release.

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