ICC T20 World Cup kicks off today

Dubai: After five-year long wait, the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup kicks off in Oman and United Arab Emirates (UAE) on Sunday (today)—returning with 16 teams looking to emulate West Indies who lifted the trophy in 2016. 

Oman and the UAE are jointly hosting the seventh edition of the tournament. Previously, India were to host the tournament but due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) decided to host the ICC event in UAE and Oman.  

The matches will be held across four venues—the Dubai International Stadium, the Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi, the Sharjah Stadium, and the Oman Cricket Academy Ground.  

The first qualifier of the T20 World Cup began on 17 October with Papua New Guinea taking on Oman followed by Scotland vs Bangladesh match. 

Ireland, Namibia, Netherlands and Sri Lanka will open up their matches tomorrow.

The Super 12 stage that includes the biggest teams like India, West Indies, Australia and others will start from 23 October. 

Pakistan will play its first match against arc-rival India on October 24.  The semi-finals will take place on 10 and 11 November, while the final will be held on 14 November.

Dubai will host the final of the T20 World Cup. 

Format of the World Cup

Eight teams including Ireland, Namibia, Netherlands, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Oman, Papua New Guinea and Scotland — are part of Round 1. 

These teams have been divided into two groups and will play against each other once and the top two teams from each group will qualify for the Super 12 stage.

Sri Lanka, Ireland, the Netherlands and Namibia are in Group A. Bangladesh, Scotland, Papua New Guinea and Oman are in Group B.

The Super 12 stage will be including teams like England, Australia, South Africa, West Indies, India, Pakistan, New Zealand and Afghanistan who have qualified directly for this round.   

The 12 teams in this round will be divided into two groups. Each team will play the others in the group once. 

Finally, in the end, the top two teams from each group will reach the semi-finals.