The 2021 edition of ICC Men’s T20 World Cup is due to be held in UAE and Oman from October 17 to November 14 and Team India are scheduled to open their campaign against arch-rivals Pakistan in Dubai on October 24.
The Men in Blue will enter into the marquee tournament after playing the second half of IPL 2021 in UAE and they will reportedly take on England and Australia in the warm-up games ahead of the main event.
According to an ANI report, the match against England would take place on October 18 while the game against Australia would go ahead on October 20.
"Yes, India will lock horns against England and Australia in warm-up games and they will be telecast on Star," an industry source confirmed to ANI.
Earlier this month, the BCCI announced India’s squad for the T20 World Cup and named legendary MS Dhoni as mentor. The most notable inclusion in the 15-member squad was of veteran spinner Ravichandran Ashwin, who hasn’t featured in white-ball cricket for India since July 2017.
Team India are placed in Group 2 along with Pakistan, New Zealand, Afghanistan and the two qualifiers from Round 1.
After facing Pakistan, Virat Kohli and company will play their group-stage match against New Zealand and Afghanistan on October 31 and November 3 in Dubai and Abu Dhabi respectively while their games against the two qualifiers will be held on November 5 and November 8 in Dubai.
On the other hand, defending champions West Indies are slotted in Group 1 alongside England, Australia, South Africa and the two qualifiers from Round 1.
Notably, first round of the tournament will see the qualifying event taking place from October 17 to 23, where four of the eight teams will ensure their progression to the main event. A total of 8 teams have already qualified for the main round while 4 more will join them from the qualifiers, making it a total of 12.
The eight teams vying for a spot in the main round are – Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Ireland, Netherlands, Scotland, Namibia, Oman, and Papua New Guinea.
For Round 1, Sri Lanka, Ireland, Netherlands and Namibia are part of Group A whilst Oman, PNG and Scotland will face Bangladesh in Group B.
The Super-12 stage will get underway on October 24 in the three venues of UAE – Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Sharjah.
(With ANI inputs)
