The ninth edition of the T20 World Cup is scheduled to be played in West Indies and the United States in 2024 and it will be the first ICC World Cup tournament to feature matches played in the United States. Earlier it was reported that the international cricket council has asked CWI to be ready to host the complete event.
The 2024 global event will be the first event in the USA, while the Caribbean nations have already hosted one 50-over World Cup (2007) and one T20 World Cup (2010) each.
Speaking on News18 Cricket Next, Dr Atul Rai, who served as interim chairman of USA Cricket, spoke about the lack of proper infrastructure and facilities as it will be the cause of concern for the USA Cricket Council to host the games alongside West Indies and said that USA Cricket has only limited facilities to conduct the event.
“Not really. I don’t think so. Not where we stand right now. But then again ICC has to make the final call. But without proper infrastructure, nothing is going to happen. We don’t have any existing facilities so it’s up to the ICC whether they will invest money in some makeshift venue and even host some games. But it’s a very tough situation, to be honest. ICC has recognized that too,” Atul Rai said.
Florida’s Fort Lauderhill ground, which had hosted a few India versus West Indies T20 games last year would remain an obvious choice of venue, but it still requires a few improvements to host the international games.
All The Responsibilities Are With CWI And ICC – Atul Rai
Atul Rai believes that call about the hosting rights is with West Indies Cricket Board and the International Cricket Council and USA Cricket has nothing to do with it, as the ICC has the rights to pick up the final venue for the 2024 T20 World Cup.
“Currently, all the responsibilities are with CWI and ICC and nothing is with USA Cricket. It’s ultimately up to ICC to decide where the final venues would be and it’s never an easy job because there are no real facilities in the USA which are ready to host ICC World Cup event,” Atul Rai added.
Earlier in the ICC Meeting, ICC had advised the USA Cricket Board to solve internal problems between their officials for the smooth conduct of the matches in 2024 and it was widely speculated that more than 15 matches would be awarded to the USA including the high-octane clash against India and Pakistan and with current infrastructure and with less than years to host an event it is unlikely that the USA hosts the games.