DUBAI: India will play Pakistan in the opening Group 2 match at the International Cricket Council’s T20 World Cup in October, a day after Australia takes on South Africa and the West Indies meet England in the first games of the Super 12 stage.
The ICC on Tuesday released the full draw for both stages of the October 17-November 14 tournament which is being played in the United Arab Emirates and Oman after being shifted from India because of the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Bangladesh and 2014 T20 World Cup champion Sri Lanka are among eight teams involved in the first stage, which will feature double-headers on six days at venues in Muscat, Oman, and Abu Dhabi and Sharjah in the UAE.
The four leading teams in the first stage will advance to the Super 12 round, joining tournament host India and seven other automatic qualifiers. The Super 12 round will run from October 23 to November 8 and the top two teams in each group will advance to the semifinals to be played at Abu Dhabi on November 10 and at Dubai on November 11.
Dubai will host the final on November 14.
The defending champion West Indies are in Group 1 along with Australia, 2010 champion England and South Africa. India and Pakistan are joined by New Zealand and Afghanistan in Group 2.
West Indies T20 captain Kieron Pollard said his team was excited to begin the defense of the title after a year-long delay in the tournament.
“We can’t wait to get started,” he said. “West Indian cricketers have always played an exciting brand of cricket and I am sure our fans in the Caribbean and all over the world are highly anticipating seeing us in action.”
Virat Kohli’s India squad will have a packed schedule leading into the tournament. India’s test squad is playing a series in England now and most players will return for the second half of the Indian Premier League, which is set to resume in the UAE next month after being suspended in May as coronavirus cases surged in India.
