The 10th edition of the ICC Men’s T20I World Cup is set to get underway on February 7, with India and Sri Lanka set to jointly host the global tournament. The showpiece event will be played across eight venues in India and Sri Lanka. India will host the bulk of the matches, with five cities, Ahmedabad, New Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai, and Mumbai, sharing responsibilities. In Sri Lanka three venues, Kandy and two Colombo grounds, the R Premadasa Stadium and the Sinhalese Sports Club, will play the hosts.
The tournament will culminate on Sunday, March 8. Bangladesh were removed from the competition after declining to travel to India, citing security concerns. Their withdrawal opened the door for Scotland, who were parachuted in to complete the 20-team line-up.
Pakistan, meanwhile, have decided to boycott their scheduled group-stage clash with India on February 15 in Colombo. India and Pakistan, who do not play bilateral matches on each other’s soil, will continue that arrangement here. As a result, the venue for the final is conditional: Ahmedabad is slated to host the showpiece match, but if Pakistan make it to the final, the title decider will shift to Colombo. The tournament format features an initial group stage with 20 teams divided into four groups of five.
Group A: India, Namibia, Netherlands, Pakistan, USA
Group B: Australia, Ireland, Oman, Sri Lanka, Zimbabwe
Group C: England, Italy, Nepal, West Indies, Scotland
Group D: Afghanistan, Canada, New Zealand, South Africa, United Arab Emirates (UAE)
Each team will play four matches, with the top two from each group advancing to the Super 8s. At that stage, the remaining teams will be split into two groups of four, and only the top two from each Super 8 group will move on to the semifinals.
If India qualify for the semifinals, they will feature in the second semifinal at Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium. Should Pakistan make the last four, their semifinal will be held at Colombo’s R Premadasa Stadium on March 4. India head into the tournament as defending champions, hoping to create history with rare back-to-back title victories. They will begin their campaign against the USA on February 7 at Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.