ALTHOUGH the 2021 edition of the T20 World Cup won’t take place in India, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is set to earn a massive profit for the competition.

The global event will get underway on October 17 with the matches taking place in UAE and Oman. Earlier, India had the hosting rights of the competition. However, the COVID-19 crisis in the country meant the action is shifted to the Gulf nations.

The Emirates Cricket Board (ECB) will get US$7M for hosting 39 games across Abu Dhabi, Sharjah, and Dubai. Oman Cricket (OC) will receive a fee of US$400 000 for staging six preliminary matches of the competition in Muscat. As BCCI are the designated hosts of the global championship, they’ll enjoy a surplus of US$12M.

BCCI reportedly wrote a detailed email to Apex Council members and informed them about the cost details. “BCCI is paying ECB a fixed fee of US$1.5Mn (from our host fee of US$13.5M) and operational costs of US$5.5M which will be covered by ICC. The total fee payable is US$7 M. BCCI is paying OC a fixed fee of US$400 000,” the email read as seen by Cricbuzz.

BCCI also asserted that the competition was shifted to the Arab nations considering the health and well-being of the players. Nevertheless, the Indian board has deployed teams at venues to oversee the preparation for the event.

“The BCCI discussed the hosting issues with the ICC and had several rounds of deliberations internally. After much thought, it was decided that the safety of players and other stakeholders is of paramount importance, and keeping that in mind, it was best to shift the event to the United Arab Emirates and Oman,” BCCI secretary Jay Shah wrote in the email.

Meanwhile, the 2021 edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) is underway in UAE. The competition will be concluded on October 15 with the T20 World Cup getting underway a couple of days later. With T20 becoming a fan-favourite format lately, fans must gear up to witness some exciting contests in the tournament.

(CricTracker)