The Men’s 2024 ICC T20 World Cup is only a few days away and the anticipation of the tournament set to be held in the United States of America and the Islands that constitute West Indies is slowly building up.
The previous edition of the T20 World Cup took place in 2022 in Australia, where Jos Buttler’s England clinched the trophy after beating Pakistan in the final. There have been eight T20 World Cup tournaments played since 2007, with England and West Indies winning the trophy twice each. India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Australia have won the tournament once each.
Following the Indian Premier League season, the focus now shifts to the second biggest ICC event and we bring you all the details you need to know about the coveted competition.
Dates
The 2024 ICC T20 World Cup is slated to be a 28-day long tournament, kicking off on Sunday, June 2nd with co-hosts USA taking on Canada in the opening fixture.
Following the group stage and Super Eight, two semi-final matches will be played on June 26 and June 27, respectively. The tournament will conclude with the final taking place on June 29.
Venues
The ninth edition of the T20 World Cup is scheduled to be co-hosted by the United States and West Indies, with matches being played across nine venues.
Kensington Oval in Bridgetown will play host to the final of the biggest T20 carnival
Barbados are the most fortunate amongst all venues, with Kensington Oval, Bridgetown getting to host the most number of matches. It has a capacity of 28000 and will host nine games, including the final. Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in North Sound, Antigua has a capacity of around 10000 and will be hosting eight games in the tournament.
Providence Stadium, which has a capacity of around 15000, will host a total of six matches including the second semi-final. With a capacity of 15000, Brian Lara Cricket Academy in Tarouba will play host to five games including the first semi-final.
St Lucia will host six games at Daren Sammy National Cricket Stadium, Gros Islet, which can have up to 12400 spectators along with five matches scheduled to be played at Arnos Vale Ground in Kingstown, St Vincent.
Moving to the United States, there will be eight games hosted at New York’s Nassau County International Cricket Stadium, which has a capacity of around 34000.
Grand Prairie Stadium in Dallas, Texas, which went under redevelopment a few years back, will play host to four games in the upcoming tournament, as will Central Broward Regional Park Stadium Turf Ground in Lauderhill which can host up to 20000 spectators.
Teams
The 2024 ICC T20 World Cup is set to be the biggest edition of the ICC tournament, with a total of 20 teams participating in it, having expanded from 16 in the last edition. Teams are split into four groups with each group containing five teams.
The two biggest attractions of any ICC event, India and Pakistan are in the same group, Group A, and alongside them are Canada, USA and Ireland. Rohit Sharma will continue leading the Indian team while Babar Azam has the reins of the Pakistan cricket team.
Group B comprises the two latest T20 WC winners in Australia and England with three associate nations, Namibia, Oman, and Scotland joining them. The defending champions England will be led by their title-winning captain Jos Buttler whereas Australia have a new captain in Mitchell Marsh.
Sri Lanka is placed in Group D along with South Africa, Bangladesh, Netherlands and Nepal
Former two-time champions and the co-hosts West Indies are part of Group C along with New Zealand, Afghanistan and two associate nations Papua New Guinea and Uganda. South Africa, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Netherlands, and Nepal comprise a tricky Group D and all our eyes will be on the last group as it has the most potential to throw a surprise result.
Format Explainer
The tournament will feature a total of 55 matches played across nine venues in the USA and the Caribbean Islands. 20 teams are divided into four groups, with each team playing other teams in their respective group once. The top two teams from each group will advance to the next round of the tournament, that is Super Eight.
In Super Eight, the teams will be split into two groups of four each, where they will play other teams in the group once. The top two from these two groups will then compete in the two crucial semifinals where the winners would earn the right to face off in the final for the coveted trophy.
The winning team of the competition will receive the prestigious trophy and a cash prize of USD 1.6 million (INR 13.30 crores), whereas the runners-up will take home USD 800000 (INR 6.65 crores). Additionally, there will be an individual award for the Player of the Tournament.
Star Attractions
The biggest attraction for the 2024 T20 World Cup will be the former Indian skipper Virat Kohli, who won the Orange Cap in the recently concluded IPL 2024 for the most runs in the tournament, and he has an outstanding record at the T20 World Cup.
There will be eyes on the Indian captain Rohit Sharma as well, who had a pretty good first half of IPL 2024 but lost his form towards the end. Jasprit Bumrah, without a doubt the best bowler in the world, will be one of the players to watch out for. He had an outstanding IPL campaign recently, where he snared 20 wickets at an economy of 6.48.
The England skipper Jos Buttler will have a lot riding on him if they are to defend the title. He had an average IPL season by his standards but looked in great touch in their recent clash against Pakistan. Fast bowler Jofra Archer has returned from a long and frustrating battle with injuries and will be hoping to make a mark in the competition.
From Australia, there will be an extra spotlight on opening batter Travis Head and left-arm fast bowler Mitchell Starc. Head has been in the form of his life and recently smashed 567 runs in IPL 2024 at a strike rate of 191. Starc had an ordinary first half of that tournament but delivered when it mattered the most, winning the ‘Player of the Match’ award in two knockout matches.
South Africa’s Heinrich Klaasen has been in great form in the last couple of years and so is Nicholas Pooran from the West Indies. Pakistan’s Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan, and Shaheen Afridi along with Afghanistan’s Rashid Khan, Matheesha Pathirana from Sri Lanka, and Andre Russell of the West Indies will be amongst other star attractions in the tournament.