T20 World Cup venues to operate at 70 per cent fan capacity

DUBAI: In a sign that things could be as close to normal as possible during the ICC T20 World Cup, scheduled to commence in the UAE and Oman later this month, the organisers have announced that all venues in the UAE will be "operating at approximately 70 per cent of maximum seated capacity", the International Cricket Council said on Monday.

"In the UAE, all venues will be operating at approximately 70 per cent of maximum seated capacity, whilst Abu Dhabi has also introduced new socially distanced 'pods' of a maximum of four spectators on their east and west grass mounds. The Oman Cricket Academy has had a temporary infrastructure built to welcome 3,000 fans," the ICC said.

The ICC and event hosts, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), have worked closely with host authorities to ensure fans can be welcomed in a safe environment and Covid-19 protocols will apply at all venues.

The T20 World Cup is the largest sporting event to be held in the region and it will be the biggest global cricket event since the pandemic with fans in stadia.

The tournament kicks off with the Round 1 match between Oman and Papua New Guinea in Muscat. Australia and South Africa will play the first match of Super 12s on October 23 in Abu Dhabi, which will be followed by the replay of the 2016 final between England and West Indies — also October 23 — in Dubai. Arch-rivals India and Pakistan will play in Dubai on October 24. IANS

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