NEW DELHI, Jan 5: India and Pakistan have been clubbed in one group and the two arch rivals will clash against each other in New York on June 9 in a Group A match in the 2024 T20 Cricket World Cup to be co-hosted by West Indies and the United States.
The schedule for the showpiece was revealed on Friday and India are clubbed with Pakistan, Ireland, Canada and co-hosts USA in Group A for the league stage games. The title holder England has been clubbed with Australia in Group B.
India will open their World Cup campaign with a match against Ireland on June 5 in New York. After facing Pakistan, India will stay back in New York to take on the co-host nation on June 12, and then will travel to Florida to play against Canada in their final group assignment on June 15.
The tournament will be played with 20 teams, divided into four groups of five sides each, making it the largest ever T20 World Cup. Sixteen teams contested in the last edition in 2022 in Australia. The tournament will start on June 1 with a match between the USA and Canada. The semi-finals are scheduled for June 26 in Guyana and June 27 in Trinidad while Barbados will host the final on June 29.
The group stage matches will be played from June 1 to 18 while the Super 8 games are slotted from June 19 to 24. The top two teams from each group will enter the Super 8, where the teams will be clubbed into two groups of four each.
The top two teams in each Super 8 group will advance to the semi-finals.
A total of 55 games will be played across six venues in the West Indies — Kensington Oval, Barbados; Brian Lara Cricket Academy, Trinidad; Providence Stadium, Guyana; Sir Vivian Richards Stadium, Antigua; Darren Sammy Cricket Ground, St Lucia; Arnos Vale Stadium, St Vincent — and three stadiums in the USA — Eisenhower Park, New York; Lauderhill, Florida and Grand Prairie, Texas.
Groups
Group A: India, Pakistan, Ireland, Canada, USA.
Group B: England, Australia, Namibia, Scotland, Oman.
Group C: New Zealand, West Indies, Afghanistan, Uganda, Papua New Guinea.
Group D: South Africa, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Netherlands, Nepal.
(Manas Dasgupta)