The ICC Men’s T20 World Cup is back this month, five years after the last edition. 16 teams will be vying for supremacy in the game’s shortest and most exciting format. We can now all get back to being invested in cricket.
The showpiece event will begin on 17 October at Oman Cricket Academy Ground and will end in Dubai on 14 November when the two top teams from the tournament meet in the final. This is a great opportunity to build on 2016’s incredible conclusion.
In 2016, Carlos Brathwaite made cricket history when he scored four consecutive sixes in the final over, to propel West Indies to their second Men’s T20 World Cup title.
The West Indies will attempt to defend their title as Men’s T20 World Cup Champions. They have already won the trophy twice. With 15 top-quality teams ready to take the trophy home, it won’t be easy. This is everything you need about the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024.
The tournament format
The Men’s T20 World Cup will be held in three stages this year. Round 1 features two teams of four participating in a round-robin. Each group’s top two teams advance to the Super 12 stage. Each Round 1 Group includes three teams from the 2019 Qualification and one of two automatic qualifiers, Sri Lanka or Bangladesh.
The Super 12s’ top seeds from each group, the first seed from Group A and second from Group B, enter Group 1. The Super 12s top seeds from each group and the second from Group A go into Group 2.
Two groups of six players play the Super 12 stage. The top two teams in each group advance to the knockout stage. This stage consists of two semi-finals as well as a final.
Each of the two Super 12 groups features four automatic qualifiers – tournament hosts India, the top seven MRF Tyres ICC ranking teams at the cut-off date – and two Round 1 qualifiers.
The points system
The following points system will be in effect for both the group stage and the individual stages:
- Win – Two points
- Tie – no result or abandoned: One point
- Loss or forfeit – Zero points
In 2016, Carlos Brathwaite struck England’s Ben Stokes four times in succession to help West Indies win the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup.
Do they have reserve days?
Yes, both for the semi-finals as well as the final. There will be no reserve day for any other matches.
Both the semi-finals and final will be completed on the designated day. Any reductions in overs will be taken into consideration. The match will not be completed if there are less than five overs left to complete a match (5 per side).
If a match is not played on the day scheduled, but overs are reduced due to an interruption, play will be halted and the match will resume on a reserved day from the end of the last ball.
Locations
The tournament was originally supposed to take place in Australia. However, Covid-19 forced the tournament to be postponed. Although the tournament was originally scheduled to take place in India in 2021, the hosts have been changed to Oman and the UAE. The matches will take place in four cities and four stadiums:
- Dubai – Dubai International Stadium
- Sharjah – Sharjah International Stadium
- Abu Dhabi – Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium
- Muscat-Oman International Academy Ground
Important dates
The tournament begins on 17 October with most teams getting underway!
The Round 1 Group B match between Oman and Papua New Guinea, at Oman Cricket Academy Ground Al Amerat, kicks off the event. Later in the day, Scotland and Bangladesh, which are Group B opponents, begin their campaign against each other at the same venue.
The next day, Group A will begin in Abu Dhabi. Ireland and the Netherlands play the afternoon match and Sri Lankan and Namibia the evening match.
Round 1 finishes: 22 October
Round 1 ends after the Group A Namibia/Ireland and Sri Lanka/Netherlands doubleheader at Sharjah.
The final match of Group B will be played at Oman Cricket Academy, 21 October.
The Super 12 stage is for the top two teams in each group.
Super 12 stage begins: 23 October
Just one day after Round 1 is over, the Super 12 stage of this tournament begins in Abu Dhabi. Group 1 players Australia and South Africa will meet there.
The second group, Group 2, begins in Dubai the next day with a mouthwatering clash between India & Pakistan
Super12 stage closes: 8 November
The Super 12 stage ends on 8 November, with India playing against the Round 1 Group A qualifier at Dubai.
Semi-finals: 10 and 11 November
The semi-finals will be decided by the top two teams in each Super 12 Group. They will be played in Abu Dhabi or Dubai on 10/11 November, respectively.
Final: 14th November
The tournament will conclude at the Dubai International Stadium on 14 November.
See below for the breakdown of the T20 World Cup fixtures:
Groups
Round 1
Group A
Sri Lanka, Ireland, Netherlands, Namibia
Group B
Bangladesh, Scotland, Papua New Guinea, Oman
Super 12
Group 1
England, Australia, South Africa, West Indies, top seed Group A, second seed Group B
Group 2
India, Pakistan, New Zealand, Afghanistan, second seed Group A, top seed Group B
Squads
Each team selected fifteen players to play in the tournament. The preliminary squad can be modified up to four days prior. Due to existing Covid-19 rules, each team may have up to seven reserves that can step in.
Details about TV and Telecast
The T20 World Cup in India will be broadcast on Star Sports Network’s following channels: Star Sports 1/1 HD, Star Sports2/2 HD (for Qualifier), Star Sports1 Hindi/1 HD Hindi and Star Sports1 Tamil, 1 Telugu, & 1 Kannada.
You can also live stream matches on Disney+ Hotstar by purchasing a subscription.
The tournament will be streamed on many other channels around the world.
The defending champions are West Indies, who won the 2016 tournament. They are the only team that has won the trophy more than once and will want to win it again this year. With so much going into this tournament, the real question is who will win?
