ICC T20 World Cup 2021 Schedule Announced, Team India To Play It's First Match On This Date

The International Cricket Council (ICC) has announced the ICC T20 World Cup 2021 schedule and the tournament is all set to take place from October 17 to November 14 this year. Notably, the Qualifiers of the tournament will be played from October 17 to October 22 while the main tournament will commence from October 23.

The ICC had already divided the qualified teams into four groups. The groups were divided on the basis of the ICC T20 Team Rankings as of 20 March 2021. In the Super 12s, the India National Cricket Team is placed in Group B alongside arch-rivals Pakistan, New Zealand, and Afghanistan. In Group A, England, Australia, South Africa, and West Indies will compete for the knockout rounds.

Also Read: T20 World Cup 2021: 3 Players Who Can Replace Hardik Pandya In The Indian Team

ICC T20 World Cup 2021 Schedule Announced

The ICC T20 World Cup 2021 schedule was announced by the International Cricket Council on Tuesday. It was already confirmed that India and Pakistan will be locking horns against each other on October 24 in the T20 World Cup 2021.

Round 1

The tournament will begin with the Round 1 Group B encounter between hosts Oman and Papua New Guinea at 2pm local time on 17 October, with Scotland and Bangladesh, the other teams in Group B, clashing in the evening match at 6pm.

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.

Super12

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.

Group 2 will commence with a heavyweight clash between India and Pakistan in Dubai on 24 October at 6pm local time. Pakistan then take on New Zealand in Sharjah on 26 October, in a tough start for the 2009 champions. Afghanistan begin their 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.

Semi-finals

The first semi-final will be held in Abu Dhabi on 10 November at 6pm local time. The second semi-final will be hosted by Dubai on 11 November. Both semi-finals have reserve days.

The final

The marquee clash of the tournament will take place in Dubai at 6pm local time on 14 November, Sunday, with Monday acting as the reserve day for the final.

IPL 2021 To Kickoff A Three-Month Cricketing Fest

A long-awaited cricket fest will be commenced with the resumption of IPL 2021 from September 19 this year in the UAE. Notably, IPL 2021 had to be called off earlier this year when the tournament was staged in India as certain players and staff members tested positive for COVID-19 during the tournament.

The ICC T20 World Cup 2021 was originally slated to take place in 2020 with Cricket Australia (CA) holding the rights of the tournament. However, due to the poor COVID situation, the BCCI acquired the hosting rights but the tournament had to be postponed to 2021. With COVID-19 barraging India down with its second wave, the BCCI decided to stage the tournament in the United Arab Emirates.

Also Read: ICC T20 World Cup 2021: India And Pakistan To Face-off In The Group Stages On October 24

The groupings of the ICC T20 World Cup 2021 are as follows:

Round 1

Group A: Sri Lanka, Ireland, the Netherlands and Namibia
Group B: Bangladesh, Scotland, Papua New Guinea and Oman

Super 12s

Group 1: England, Australia, South Africa, West Indies, A1 and B2.
Group 2: India, Pakistan, New Zealand, Afghanistan, A2 and B1.