On Friday, the International Cricket Council confirmed the draws for this year’s T20 World Cup.
Originally, India and England were in the same Super 12 groups, whereas Australia and Pakistan were part of the other. But with the pandemic wreaking havoc and leading to several matches being cancelled, the ICC had to tweak the cut-off date on the rankings table and rejig the groups accordingly.
The latest groups have been formed on the basis of the ranking table as of March 20, 2021. India, Pakistan are now clubbed with New Zealand, Afghanistan and two qualifying teams in Group 2 of the Super 12 stage, while West Indies, South Africa, England and Australia, as well as two qualifiers, form Group 1.
The qualifying teams for the Super 12 stage will be decided via the preliminary round where Sri Lanka, Ireland, Netherlands and Namibia are part of Group A and Bangladesh, Scotland, Papua New Guinea and Oman are included in Group B.
Two teams each from these preliminary round groups will make the cut for the Super 12s, where the semi-finalists will be decided.
“We are delighted to announce the groups for the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2021. There are some great matchups offered by the groups and it starts to bring the event to life for our fans as our first multi-team event since the onset of the global pandemic draws closer,”
“Given the disruption caused by COVID-19, we selected the cutoff date as close as possible to the event to ensure we were able to include the maximum amount of cricket in the rankings which determine the groups. There is no doubt we will witness some highly competitive cricket when the event gets underway in just three months.”
ICC Acting Chief Executive Geoff Allardice said.
The tournament will take place in UAE and Oman from October 17 to November 14. A detailed itinerary for the T20 World Cup 2021 is expected to be announced in the coming weeks. Dubai International Stadium, the Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi, Sharjah Stadium and the Oman Cricket Academy Ground will be hosting the matches.
Oman was roped in as co-host recently when the designated host board – the BCCI – wrote officially to the ICC last month that the T20 World Cup can’t go ahead in India as it was originally meant to be. With the COVID-19 outbreak posing massive challenges here, the BCCI had to assess the level of threat and make a decision whether it can safely host the event or not.
Ultimately, the board opted to take the competition outside India. But having also shifted the remaining portion of IPL 2021 to UAE, the Indian board was wary of the excessive wear and tear on the surfaces used in the Middle East, with two lengthy tournaments cramped inside a two-month window.
Thus, Oman joined in and is likely to play host to the entire preliminary round to allow the other matches, including those of IPL 2021, to be played in a caravan system on fresh pitches.
“I am particularly delighted to be in Oman. As a major force in world cricket, the BCCI has always endeavoured to promote and assist Associate Nations. In my capacity as Asian Cricket Council President, my vision is to take cricket far and deep into Asia.
“Co-hosting the World Cup will put Oman Cricket on the global stage. They are also playing the Qualifiers and it will be an icing on the cake if they make it to the Super 12s.”
BCCI secretary Jay Shah said.
