This year's men's T20 World Cup could be moved from India to the United Arab Emirates, the International Cricket Council said Tuesday. The move appears to have been prompted by the rising number of Covid-19 cases in India, although this was not mentioned directly in a statement issued by the global governing body. "The ICC board has requested management focus 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," the statement said. 

The ICC added that a final decision on the host country for the October-November event would be taken later this month. It also said the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) would remain the hosts of the tournament, regardless of where it is played. The statement came just two days after Indian cricket chiefs announced that the lucrative Indian Premier League T20 franchise tournament, suspended after a new Covid-19 wave hit India, would be finished in the UAE in September and October.