Cricket rivals Pakistan and India are drawn within the same group at this year’s T20 World Cup, the International Cricket Council (ICC) announced on Friday.
The tournament is about to require a place in Oman and therefore the United Arab Emirates from October 17 to November 14.
Pakistan and India are going to be joined in Group 2 of the Super 12s (second round) by World Test champions New Zealand and Afghanistan also as two qualifiers from round one.
Champions West Indies, meanwhile, are pooled with former winners England, whom they hammer in the last final in 2016, in Group 1. they’re joined by Australia and South Africa |African country|African nation”> South Africa also as two more qualifiers.
Test nations Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, and Ireland must come through round one to succeed in the Super 12s but another Test team Zimbabwe are going to be absent.
Non-Test playing nations Netherlands, Namibia, Scotland, Papua New Guinea and Oman also will have an opportunity of creating it through to the Super 12s.
“There are some great match-ups offered by the groups and it starts to bring the event to life for our fans as our first multi-team event since the onset of the worldwide pandemic draws closer,” said ICC acting chief executive Geoff Allardice during a statement.
The tournament was originally meant to require a place in Australia at the top of 2020 but it had been called off because the pandemic swept across the world causing widescale lockdowns.
It was switched to India for 2021 but the country is emerging from a Covid-19 surge in April and should and experts fear a replacement wave of cases later this year.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) remains the ‘host’ but the competition will now be held across four venues — the Dubai International Stadium, the Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi, the Sharjah Stadium, and therefore the Oman Cricket Academy Ground.
“There is nothing that separates the 2 groups as both are full of sides that are highly competitive within the shortest format of the sport,” said BCCI secretary Jay Shah.
“Having said that, the exciting T20 format is understood for its surprises, and that we must be prepared for an equivalent. I’m sure we’ll witness some exciting and nail-biting games.”
Draw Round 1
Group A: Sri Lanka, Ireland, Netherlands, Namibia
Group B: Bangladesh, Scotland, Papua New Guinea, Oman
Super 12s
Group 1: England, Australia, South Africa, West Indies, A1, B2
Group 2: India, Pakistan, New Zealand, Afghanistan, A2, B1
