India, Pakistan and West Indies in same group for ICC World T20 2016: Reports
India, Pakistan and West Indies in same group for ICC World T20 2016: Reports
The ICC World Twenty20 (T20) 2016, which is scheduled to be held in India is likely to witness Pakistan, West Indies and the hosts play it out in the same group, according to media reports. However, according to media reports, Pakistan will not be playing in Mumbai and Nagpur. Earlier, International Cricket Council (ICC) released its tentative itinerary for the period 2015 to 2023 in its annual conference held in London on Saturday, where it also announced the inaugural World Test Championship in 2017 to be staged in England and Wales. Most likely, all matches will be played in five or six venues, and Eden Gardens is going to host the ICC World T20 2016 final.
The said tournament will run from March 11 to April 3 next year. Kolkata’s iconic Eden Gardens is slated to host the final of the tournament. Bangalore, Chennai, Dharamshala, Mohali, Mumbai, Nagpur and New Delhi are the other locations which will play host to matches. Speaking on occasion of the announcement of venues, BCCI secretary Anurag Thakur sounded pleased and confident about the capabilities of the said venues to produce quality cricket. “BCCI is extremely proud to host this prestigious event. All the venues identified have hosted many prestigious matches. With this announcement, we have begun our preparations in right earnest. We want this World Twenty20 to be a memorable experience for our participants and fans. I am confident that all the venues nominated will deliver a world class event,” Thakur told bcci.tv.
The tournament will be a 16-team affair of which the 10 full members have been given direct pass while six associates will be selected based on the ongoing ICC World T20 Qualifier tournament being held in Ireland and Scotland. The previous edition of the tournament was held in Bangladesh, which saw Sri Lanka win the title after facing India in the final. It has been learnt that Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium is in line for one of the two semi-finals while Delhi’s Feroz Shah Kotla in all likelihood will host the other Semi-Final.
The BCCI has also announced a managing committee for the ICC World T20 2016 of which BCCI president Jagmohan Dalmiya will be chairman. Other members will include Thakur, Amitabh Choudhary, Anirudh Choudhary, G. Ganga Raju, Rajeev Shukla, Ashish Shelar and Ashirbad Behera.