Bitter rivals India and Pakistan will play in the Super 12 stage of the T20 World Cup in the UAE, the International Cricket Council (ICC) confirmed on Friday.
The men’s T20 World Cup will be hosted by the BCCI in UAE and Oman from October 17 to November 14.
The groups, selected on the basis of team rankings, see defending champions West Indies pooled along with former champions England, Australia and South Africa in Group 1 of the Super 12s, with two qualifiers from Round 1 joining them.
Group 2 will comprise former champions India and Pakistan, New Zealand, Afghanistan and the other two qualifiers from Round 1.
Eight teams will contest in the first round including automatic qualifiers, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.
🤩 Some mouth-watering match-ups in the Super 12 stage of the ICC Men's #T20WorldCup 2021 🔥
Which clash are you most looking forward to?
👉 https://t.co/Z87ksC0dPk pic.twitter.com/7aLdpZYMtJ
— T20 World Cup (@T20WorldCup) July 16, 2021
“We are delighted to announce the groups for the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2021. 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 global pandemic draws closer,” said Geoff Allardice, ICC Acting Chief Executive.
The venues for the T20 World Cup are Dubai International Stadium, the Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi, the Sharjah Stadium, and the Oman Cricket Academy Ground.
BCCI Secretary Jay Shah said the countdown for the World Cup started after the announcement of the groups.
“With the announcement of groupings, our countdown for the ICC T20 World Cup kickstarts. There is nothing that separates the two groups as both are packed with sides that are highly competitive in the shortest format of the game. Having said that, the exciting T20 format is known for its surprises, and we must be prepared for the same. I am sure we will witness some exciting and nail-biting games,” Jay Shah said.
