Due to the COVID-19 pandemic all around the world, International Cricket Council (ICC) has strictly allowed all the nations to get their final 15 man squad and 8 officials alongside for the ongoing ICC Men’s T20 Tournament which is going to kickstart from 17th October and the final will be played on 14th November which will be held in Dubai, United Arab Emirates and Oman this coming year.
The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has officially announced on Friday that ICC has strictly given every participating nation a deadline till 10th September, to finalize their 15 man squad and 8 officials including players and coaching staff and submit to them. However, the ICC officials have also added by saying that the cost and expenses of all the additional players will have to be paid by the respective nation’s board in advance. It is also the decision of the ICC board to decide on the number of additional players travelling per side, keeping the protocols of the COVID-19 pandemic in mind.
Before the ICC T20 tournament begins, a small qualification round will start in Oman, where four teams from two different groups will be eligible to play the all-important WT20 Super Eights, against the top nations across the tournament. This year’s WT20 will be played in four stadiums which are Muscat, Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Sharjah. ICC board has also revealed that “The ICC has also allowed all participating nations to bring additional players with their squads because of the COVID-19 situation and bio-secure bubble but the concerned boards will have to bear the costs of these additional players.”
The team’s still left in the qualifying hunt this year are Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Ireland and many more who will play the all-important qualifying round starting 23rd September in Oman as well as one stadium in UAE. From the qualifying rounds, the top 4 teams will be guaranteed qualified in the Super-12 stage beginning from 24th September in UAE. ICC has also later added by saying the boards can make any last-minute changes in their squads until five days before the quarantine period for teams begins.
All the boards will have to send their team by September 10th. The ICC T20 Men’s Tournament was originally hosted in India, but sadly due to COVID-19 pandemic cases rising in India, the tournament was decided to be shifted to Dubai, UAE and Oman this year.
