The governing body has postponed the Asia A qualifier due to COVID-19, as well as the Sub Regional Africa A and B qualification events.

The Asia A Qualifier is two steps away from the Men’s T20 World Cup, with the group winners advancing to a global qualifier.

The tournament had been scheduled to take place from April 3 to 9, but will now be held from October 23 to 29.

Bahrain, Maldives, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait will compete in the qualifier, with the latter serving as the hosts.

The postponement follows new restrictions being put in place by several participating countries to suspend sporting activities to limit the spread of the new COVID-19 variants, which have led to teams not being able to train sufficiently.

Extensive quarantine requirements for the visiting teams on their return to their respective countries were cited as another contributing factor.

The ICC said the sub-regional Africa A and B qualification events were due to take place in South Africa in April.

The events have now been rescheduled to October 25 to 31.

Qualifier A involves Ghana, Lesotho, Malawi, Rwanda, Seychelles, Swaziland and Uganda, while qualifier B features Botswana, Cameroon, Mozambique, Sierra Leone, St Helena and Tanzania.

The postponements were confirmed as a result of the process undertaken for the ICC’s comprehensive contingency planning of COVID-19 after consultation with members and with the relevant Government and public health authorities.

The sub-regional qualifiers are three steps away from the T20 World Cup.

The ICC confirmed the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup Africa qualifier has now been moved to November 24 to 27, with the event set to take place in Nigeria.

Kenya, Nigeria, and the top teams from the sub regional Africa A and B qualifiers will compete at the event.

The move will allow sufficient time for the sub-regional qualifiers to be completed.

The ICC has confirmed the Under-19 Men’s Cricket World Cup Asia Division 2 has been cancelled, with Oman and Singapore promoted to compete in a qualifier for the World Cup.

"As part of the ICC’s comprehensive contingency planning process we have decided to postpone three Men’s T20 World Cup 2022 qualifying events and the Africa U19 Men’s Cricket World Cup Division 2 due to COVID-19," said Chris Tetley, ICC head of events.

"With a combination of restrictions in place in some participating countries limiting the opportunity for team preparation, as well as ongoing quarantine requirements and travel restrictions, there was no other option but to postpone and reschedule the events.

"Unfortunately, due to there being no suitable options to stage the event within the necessary timelines, we have taken the difficult decision to cancel the U19 Men’s Cricket World Cup Asia Division 2 qualifier.

"As a result, Oman and Singapore are promoted to the Under-19 Men’s Cricket World Cup Asia qualifier on the basis of their performances in the five previous editions of the event.

"In addition, we have also rescheduled the Men’s and Women’s T20 World Cup Africa qualifiers and confirmed the dates for the Under-19 Men’s Cricket World Cup Africa Qualifier to ease calendar congestion and to provide the best opportunity for qualification to be determined on the field of play.

"We will continue to monitor and assess all events across our pathway structures with the ICC’s priority continuing to be to protect the well-being of players, coaches, officials and fans."

The rescheduled ICC U19 Men’s Cricket World Cup Africa Division 2 qualifier is now due to be held from August 7 to 13.

Hosts Tanzania will compete with Botswana, Kenya, Mozambique, Rwanda and Sierra Leone for two Under-19 Men’s Cricket World Cup Africa qualifier spots.

The dates for the Under-19 Men’s Cricket World Cup Africa qualifier have been confirmed for September 25 to October 1.

Nigeria will host the event with Namibia and Uganda scheduled to take part, as teams seek to earn the one spot in the West Indies in early 2022.

The ICC Women's T20 World Cup Africa qualifier has been rescheduled and is due to take place from September 3 to 11.

The ICC say this will help ease regional calendar congestion involving hosts Botswana, Cameroon, Namibia, Nigeria, Malawi, Mozambique, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, Uganda and Zimbabwe.