The BCCI has been given a month's extension to finalise the venue of this year's T20 World Cup, of which the Indian cricket board are hosts.
The tournament is scheduled to be played in October-November but with the growing cases of COVID in the country, that led to the suspension of the IPL, the BCCI is said to be looking at the UAE to host the tournament.
The ICC Board has asked its management to begin planning the tournament in UAE and look for another venue in west Asia.
"The ICC Board has requested management [to] 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 ICC said in a statement following a meeting of its Board on Tuesday.
"A final decision on the host country will be taken later this month. The Board also confirmed that the BCCI will remain hosts of the event regardless of where the event is played," the statement added.
The T20 World Cup is scheduled to take place immediately after the remainder of Indian Premier League (IPL) is completed in UAE in September-October.
There is concern about the state of pitches for the T20 World Cup in UAE following 31 IPL matches. This is probably why ICC is eyeing another venue in the Gulf region.
The BCCI think-tank had earlier, on May 29, called a Special General Meeting and apprised its members that it will ask ICC for a month to decide if it can host the T20 World Cup in India.
More Decisions at ICC Meet
Among the big decisions taken at the ICC board meeting on Tuesday was the reintroduction of the Champions Trophy after it was discontinued in 2017, even as the ICC included several teams to the men's 50-over and T20 World Cups.
While announcing the tournaments in the 2024-2031 cycle, the ICC said that eight World Cups and Champions Trophy competitions will be staged in this period, besides four World Test Championship (WTC) finals, in 2025, 2027, 2029, and 2031.
The 50-over World Cups will be expanded to 14 teams, with 54 matches in one tournament, from 2027 and the T20 World Cup to 20 teams and 55 matches from 2024.
In the previous 50-over World Cup, held in 2019, 10 teams had competed in England. And in the previous T20 World Cup, held in 2016 in India, 16 teams had competed.
The ICC, following a meeting of its Board on Tuesday, said that the hosts for the men's events for the next cycle would be decided in September while the process for women's and under-19 events would commence in November.
During the eight editions of Champions Trophy, beginning in 1998, there has been a debate around its utility. Some people have argued against having it, saying that its format (50 overs) clashed with that of the World Cup, so it should be discarded. But, it now seems, the other view has prevailed, and it will be reintroduced in 2025 with eight teams competing.
The ICC said that the 14-team 50-over World Cup would be played in 2027 and 2031 while the T20 World Cups will be held in 2024, 2026, 2028 and 2030.
"The men's World Cup format will have two groups of seven, with the top three in each group progressing to a Super Six stage, followed by semi-finals and final. This is the same format that was used in the World Cup 2003," the ICC said.
"The format of the men's T20 World Cup will consist of four groups of five, with the top two from each group going through to a Super Eight stage, followed by the knockout stages of semi-finals and a final. The Champions Trophy will follow previous editions with two groups of four, semi-finals and final."
"Having the ICC event schedule confirmed through to 2031 is a significant step forward for cricket and will form the basis of our growth strategy for the next decade," said ICC acting chief executive Geoff Allardice.
"The revised approach to selecting hosts for our events will give us much more flexibility to grow the game and engage new fans."
The ICC women's event schedule has already been confirmed with the expansion of both the (ODI) World Cup and T20 World Cup forming part of the ICC's long-term commitment to growing the women's game.
The 2024-31 Cycle of ICC Men's Global Events:
2024: T20 World Cup (20 teams, 55 matches)
2025: Champions Trophy (8 teams, 15 matches)
2025: WTC final (2 teams, 1 match)
2026: T20 World Cup (20 teams, 55 matches)
2027: 50-over World Cup (14 teams, 54 matches)
2027: WTC final (2 teams, 1 match)
2028: T20 World Cup (20 teams, 55 matches)
2029: Champions Trophy (8 teams. 15 matches)
2029: WTC final (2 teams, 1 match)
2030: T20 World Cup (20 teams, 55 matches)
2031: 50-over World Cup (14 teams, 54 matches)
2031: WTC final (2 teams, 1 match)
(At The Quint, we question everything. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member today.)