ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2021 will begin with the Round 1 Group B encounter between hosts Oman and Papua New Guinea at 2 pm local time on 17 October, with Scotland and Bangladesh, the other teams in Group B, clashing in the evening match at 6 pm.
ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2021 Schedule Announced, Will See England, Australia, South Africa, And West Indies In Group 1
Ireland, Netherlands, Sri Lanka, and Namibia – making up Group A – will be in action in Abu Dhabi the next day, with Round 1 matches running till 22 October. The top two teams in each group will proceed to the Super12 stage of the tournament, beginning on 23 October. The second round of the tournament – the Super12 stage – will get underway in Abu Dhabi on 23 October, with the Group 1 contest between Australia and South Africa.
This will be followed up with an evening clash between England and West Indies in Dubai. Old rivals England and Australia will lock horns in Dubai on 30 October. The group will conclude on 6 November with matches between Australia and West Indies in Abu Dhabi, and England and South Africa in Sharjah.
ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2021 will start a few days after the IPL final, which is likely to be held on October 15. The remainder of IPL 2021 will also be played in the UAE, starting September 19.
ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2021 Will See Pakistan And India High Voltage Clash On 24th October
India, the 2007 World T20 winners, have been placed in Group 2 alongside Pakistan, Afghanistan, and New Zealand. They will be joined by two teams from the qualifiers stage. Group 2 will commence with a heavyweight clash between India and Pakistan in Dubai on 24 October at 6 pm local time. Pakistan then takes on New Zealand in Sharjah on 26 October, in a tough start for the 2009 champions.
Afghanistan begins its campaign on 25 October at Sharjah, taking on the winners of Group B from the first round. The group will conclude on 8 November, with India taking on the second-placed Round 1 qualifier from Group A.
The first semi-final of ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2021 will be held in Abu Dhabi on 10 November at 6 pm local time. The second semi-final will be hosted by Dubai on 11 November. Both semi-finals have reserve days. The marquee clash of the tournament will take place in Dubai at 6 pm local time on 14 November, Sunday, with Monday acting as the reserve day for the final.
It’s been five years since the last T20I World Cup. The world has undergone massive change since 2016 when West Indies became the first-ever team to win two T20 World Cups. The marquee event was to be held last year too (in Australia) but for the coronavirus pandemic that made it nearly impossible for a tournament of that profile to be held under the circumstances.
ICC after holding discussions with its stakeholders arrived at the decision that the 2020 edition will now be held in 2022 in Australia but the 2021 edition will remain in India. But the global body stumbled upon another roadblock. The coronavirus pandemic continued to rage with India one of the worst affected countries. Again, the stakeholders met and eventually decided to shift the venue to Oman and UAE but the hosting rights remained with BCCI.
Here’s a full list of Indian fixtures at ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2021.
#October 24, 2021: vs Pakistan, Dubai (7:30 PM IST)
#October 31, 2021: vs New Zealand, Dubai (7:30 PM IST)
#November 3, 2021: vs Afghanistan, Dubai (7:30 PM IST)
#November 5, 2021: vs Qualifier (B1), Dubai (7:30 PM IST)
#November 8: vs Qualifier (A2), Dubai (7:30 PM IST)