Srinagar: The ICC have announced the groups for the 2024 T20 World Cup, with India set to face Pakistan in New York. In Group A, India are placed with Pakistan, USA, Canada and Ireland. Meanwhile, England and Australia have been placed in Group B, alongwith Namibia, Scotland and Oman.
In Group C, New Zealand have been placed with West Indies, Afghanistan, Uganda and Papua New Guinea. Meanwhile, South Africa have been slotted in at Group D, with Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Netherlands and Nepal.
India will begin their campaign against Ireland on June 5, in New York, followed by Pakistan (June 9) and USA (Jun 12) in the same venue. They will play their final group fixture on June 15, against Canada. The group stage will be held from June 1-18, followed by the Super 8 matches which will take place from June 19-24. The semi-finals of the tournament will take place on June 26-27, followed by the final on June 29. The first semifinal will take place in Guyana and the second will be held in Trinidad. The final will be played in Barbados.
This will be the debut of a new format, with the tournament expanding from 16 to 20 teams. Meanwhile, West Indies and the USA are the hosts. Another major shift in the new format is the tournament moving away from a global qualifier and instead putting an emphasis on regional qualification tournaments. Africa, Asia and Europe were given two qualification spots, with one spot for both the Americas and East-Asia Pacific regions. The teams that have qualified through this route are Ireland, Canada, Namibia, Scotland, Oman, Papua New Guinea, Uganda, and Nepal.
While the format that was used till 2022 featured a qualification stage consisting of associate and lower ranked countries before a Super 12 stage followed by the knockouts, the new format will have two group stages involving the 20 teams and then the semi-finals. The teams will be divided into five groups of four teams each.
The teams that finish in the top two of each of these groups then qualify for the Super 8s where they will be divided into two groups of four. The teams that finish in the top two then subsequently play the semi-finals.
