2024 T20 World Cup scheduled to take place from June 4 to 30; ICC conduct inspection of venues in the USA - Reports
The 2024 edition of the T20 World Cup will reportedly take place in the month of June across the Caribbean and the United States of America (USA). Earlier, there were initial rumors suggesting that the venues in the USA might not be prepared to host such a huge scale event. However, the ICC have given the green light following a recent inspection.
A total of 10 venues across both the USA and the West Indies are expected to be in use for the tournament across the 26-day span.
An ICC team visited the venues in Florida, Morrisville, Dallas and New York as the country prepares to host an ICC tournament for the first time as part of its rapid growth in the cricketing landscape. Lauderhill in Florida has already hosted international matches involving the West Indies in the past and has been assigned to host a couple of their T20Is against India.
Venues in Morrisville and Dallas have been in use for the ongoing Major League Cricket (MLC) 2023. It is to be noted that barring Lauderhill, none of the venues have been granted international venue status. The ICC will stage talks with the Cricket West Indies (CWI) and USA Cricket (USAC), before making a final call.
2024 T20 World Cup will include 20 teams
The current format in the T20 World Cup, adopted since the 2014 edition, will see a change from 2024 onwards.
A total of 20 teams, including the recently qualified Papua new Guinea, Scotland and Ireland, will be divided in four groups of five teams each. It is to be noted that the West Indies and the USA have already qualified since they are the hosts. Major ranked nations have also sealed their berth on the back of their T20I rankings.
The top two teams from each group will qualify for the Super 8s, which will comprise of two groups of four teams. The top two in each of those two groups will qualify for the knockout stage (semi-finals) and eventually the final.
ICC's desire to conduct the 2024 T20 World Cup is primarily to make the most of the game's ongoing growth in the US as well as make a case for the sport's inclusion in the 2028 Olympics, slated to be held in Los Angeles.
England are the defending champions, having defeated Pakistan in the T20 World Cup 2022 final.
Will the 2024 T20 World Cup be a grand success that paves the door for cricket in the USA? Let us know what you think.