For the upcoming T20 World Cup starting October 17, stadiums in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) will operate at 70 per cent capacity, the International Cricket Council (ICC) said in a statement.
The apex cricket body added that circumstances in Oman, which is ravaged by cyclone Shaheen, will be assessed soon. The preliminary stages of the mega event will held in the country.
The International Cricket Council (ICC) said, "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 stadium. In the UAE, all venues will be operating at approximately 70% of maximum seated capacity, whilst Abu Dhabi has also introduced new socially distanced 'pods' of a maximum of 4 spectators on their east and west grass mounds."
The ICC said that approximately 3,000 supporters will be accommodated in Muscat's Al Amerat stadium, despite the cyclone wreaking havoc in the city.
The situation in Oman
The death toll from Cyclone Shaheen rose to 13 on Monday while other fishermen from Iran remained missing as the storm moved further inland into Oman and weakened.
Authorities in Oman said they found the body of a man who disappeared when floodwaters swept him away from his vehicle. On Sunday as the storm made landfall, they said a child similarly drowned and two foreigners from Asia died in a landslide. The country's National Committee for Emergency Management announced Monday afternoon seven additional deaths from the storm, without elaborating.
In Iran, the state-run IRNA news agency said rescuers found the bodies of two of five fishermen who went missing off Pasabandar, a fishing village near the Islamic Republic's border with Pakistan. Earlier on Sunday, Iranian deputy parliament speaker Ali Nikzad said he feared as many as six fishermen had been killed because of the cyclone.
(With PTI inputs)
