This year's T20 World Cup is set to be moved from India to the UAE with the BCCI acknowledging that none of the participating teams would be "comfortable" coming here because "a third wave" of Covid-19 cases is expected at the time of the event.
While a final decision will be taken in a month's time, it is understood that even the Indian cricket board is jittery about holding the 16-team tournament in October-November after the ongoing IPL had to be suspended because of multiple Covid-19 cases inside the bio-bubble.
PTI has learnt BCCI officials have had very recent discussions with some of the top decision-makers in the central government and a shift to the UAE has been more or less agreed upon. The dates of the marquee competition, which was planned across nine venues, have not yet been finalised.
"The suspension of IPL within four weeks is an indicator that it's not really safe to host a global event of that magnitude at a time when the country is fighting its worst health crisis in the last 70 years," said a senior BCCI source privy to developments on condition of anonymity.
"There is a chance of a third wave hitting the Indian shores in November. So, while BCCI will remain the hosts, the tournament will probably shift to the UAE," he added.
Health experts have warned of a third wave in India in September, a view that has been shared by Maharashtra Health Minister Rajesh Tope.
The dire situation in India, where a daily addition of over three lakh new cases has continued for the past many days, has shaken most of the member boards and the ICC is unlikely to take a risk with the safety of international cricket teams.
"You can be rest assured that most of the top nations wouldn't like to tour India within next six months unless the situation comes to normalcy. The players and their families would be very wary to travel if they are in the middle of another surge.
"So, expect BCCI to agree with the shift of tournament to the UAE," another source also chipped in.
He said that the IPL's suspension after a string of positive cases had made the officialdom very jittery about taking any more risks.
"The IPL in India was a platform to prove to the world as well as participating nations that it was safe to host a tournament even when the second wave was hitting its peak," he argued. "It was going well but the bio-bubble has now become porous. What's the guarantee that it won't happen again in October-November? Nations like Australia, England and New Zealand are almost certain to have travel advisories in place."
One of the biggest reasons for conducting the tournament in the UAE is that it can be kept contained to three grounds - Sharjah, Dubai and Abu Dhabi - and there is no air travel involved.
"Look, six venues for the IPL was always a dangerous proposition when they successfully managed with three during the last edition," the source said.
"In the UAE, all of them were in one bubble from start to finish while here, each team was travelling to three bubbles. Most of the positive cases emerged after bubble travel. Therefore, even if you reduce the number of venues from nine to five in October, there will still be air travel unlike the UAE. Also for players, they would not be mentally in a space to play in India unless the situation drastically improves," he added.
There is an ICC meeting in June where a final decision will be taken but retaining the tournament in India after the cancellation of the IPL seems far-fetched at this point.