ICC T20 World Cup 2024

The 2024 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup is the ninth edition of the T20 World Cup, a biennial Twenty20 International (T20I) tournament organized by the International Cricket Council (ICC) for men’s national teams. Scheduled to be co-hosted by the West Indies and the United States from 1 June to 29 June 2024, this edition marks the first time matches will be played in the United States. England is the defending champion, having defeated Pakistan in the final of the previous edition.

The tournament features 20 teams, an increase from the 16 teams in the 2022 tournament. Alongside the hosts, the top eight teams from the previous tournament qualified automatically, as did the next two teams in the ICC Men’s T20I Team Rankings. The remaining eight spots were determined through regional qualification processes. Notably, this is the first time Canada, Uganda, and the United States have qualified for the T20 World Cup.

Format:

The 20 qualifying teams will be divided into four groups of five, with the top two teams from each group advancing to the Super 8 round. In the Super 8 stage, the teams will be split into two groups of four, and the top two teams from each group will progress to the knockout stage, consisting of two semi-finals and a final.

Host Selection:

In November 2021, the ICC announced that the 2024 Men’s T20 World Cup would be played in the West Indies and the United States. The joint bid by Cricket West Indies and USA Cricket was selected following two years of preparation, aiming to put the USA on the global cricketing map.

Teams and Qualification:

The qualification process for the 2024 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup was a multi-stage process that involved automatic qualification for top-performing teams and regional qualifiers for additional spots. Here’s an elaboration of the qualification process:

1. Automatic Qualification:

   – The top eight teams from the 2022 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup earned automatic qualification for the 2024 tournament. These teams were Australia, England, India, Netherlands, New Zealand, Pakistan, South Africa, and Sri Lanka.

   – The two hosts, the United States and the West Indies, also qualified automatically.

2. Best-Ranked Teams in ICC Men’s T20I Team Rankings:

   – The remaining two automatic qualification spots were awarded to the best-ranked teams in the ICC Men’s T20I Team Rankings as of 14 November 2022. Afghanistan and Bangladesh secured these spots based on their rankings.

3. Regional Qualifiers:

   – The ICC organized regional qualifiers to fill the remaining eight spots in the tournament. These qualifiers were divided into regions, with each region allocated a certain number of spots.

   – Europe: The Europe Qualifier took place from 20 to 28 July 2023. Ireland and Scotland emerged as the top two teams, securing their spots in the tournament.

   – East Asia-Pacific: The East Asia-Pacific Qualifier was held from 22 to 29 July 2023. Papua New Guinea claimed the sole spot from this region.

   – Americas: The Americas Qualifier took place from 30 September to 7 October 2023. Canada secured their qualification by defeating Bermuda in the final match.

   – Asia: The Asia Qualifier was held from 30 October to 5 November 2023. Nepal and Oman qualified after reaching the final of this qualifier.

   – Africa: The Africa Qualifier took place from 22 to 30 November 2023. Namibia and Uganda became the final two teams to qualify after ensuring a top-two finish in this qualifier.

   – Notably, Zimbabwe, despite being a Test-playing country, failed to qualify for the tournament.

The 2024 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup features a diverse mix of teams that earned their spots through a combination of automatic qualification based on performance and regional qualifiers. This format ensures representation from various regions and adds to the global appeal of the tournament.

Venues:

The West Indies and the United States will host matches for the tournament. In the United States, three venues have been confirmed: Central Broward Park in Lauderhill, Grand Prairie Stadium in Dallas, and Eisenhower Park in New York. The latter will feature a temporary modular stadium with a capacity of 34,000. In the Caribbean, matches will be held in Antigua & Barbuda, Barbados, Dominica, Guyana, St Lucia, St Vincent & The Grenadines, and Trinidad and Tobago.

Schedule

Notable Developments:

In July 2023, ICC shortlisted four venues in the United States, but protests in the Bronx led to a decision to build a cricket stadium at Eisenhower Park instead of Van Cortlandt Park. The Queen’s Park Oval in Trinidad and Windsor Park in Dominica were later excluded from hosting matches, with the former likely to host warm-up matches. Additionally, the Government of Dominica cited infrastructural development delays in withdrawing Windsor Park from hosting any matches.

In December 2023, a delegation from the ICC and Cricket West Indies undertook a second inspection of the host countries and cities, finalizing the tournament fixtures. On 17 January 2024, ICC unveiled the proposed design of the Nassau County International Cricket Stadium in New York City, expected to be ready by the end of May 2024.

This edition of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup promises to be an exciting showcase of top-tier cricket, featuring a diverse range of teams and venues across the West Indies and the United States.