The ICC T20 World Cup is set to begin from October 17 in the UAE two days after the Indian Premier League (IPL) final.

According to ANI, the final of the T20 World Cup is scheduled for November 14.

It is also reported that the first game on resumption of IPL will be played on September 19 while the final will take place on October 15. However, the cash-rich League (IPL) 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.

As per the ESPNcricinfo reports, “The first round, which will include 12 matches, will comprise eight teams from which four (top from each group) would qualify for the Super 12.”

“Four teams from this slot 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 further reported stated.

The Super12s phase, comprising 30 games it is slated to begin from October 24 across three venues in the UAE – Dubai, Abu Dhabi, and Sharjah.

After the Super12s 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 the 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.

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