The T20 World Cup is a little over one month away with excitement building over what should be an important milestone in the game.
This time, a total of 20 teams will compete in the showpiece event, with sides split into four groups of five. The top two teams in each group will advance to the Super 8 round, and from there to the semi-finals and final.
For the first time, World Cup matches will be held in the US. A total of 16 matches will take place at venues in Lauderhill [Florida], Dallas and New York. The venue in New York – the purpose-built Nassau County International Cricket Stadium – will host the biggest clash of the tournament between India and Pakistan on June 9.
Construction at the 34,000-seat modular venue at Eisenhower Park, Nassau County, is going on with a little over one month to go before its opening match of the T20 World Cup – the June 3 clash between Sri Lanka and South Africa.
The venue will re-use grandstands that were used for the Formula One Las Vegas Grand Prix and have been repurposed for the T20 World Cup. Also, the pitch that will be used at the ground is a drop-in square – like the ones used in Adelaide – and is being curated in Florida before being transported by road to New York in early May.
The outfield is scheduled to be completed by early next week with the venue construction to end on May 6. After that, a test event will be held at the end of May, following necessary inspection and clearance, before being approved to host World Cup matches.
The venue in New York has been built at a cost of around $30 million, according to Forbes.
Tickets for matches at the venue start at $175 with premium tickets for the India v Pakistan match being offered at exorbitant rates on resale sites.
England will look to defend their T20 World Cup title, which they won after a dramatic final against Pakistan in Melbourne in 2022.
However, England will have to do so without the star of the final Ben Stokes, who has ruled himself out of the T20 competition to focus on becoming a long-format all-rounder again.
Babar Azam has returned as captain of the Pakistan team after a period of turmoil in which Shaheen Afridi was removed as the 20-over skipper.
India, too, will enter the tournament with question marks over the form and future of a number of their ageing stars. Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli are edging towards the end of their T20 careers, while the form of Hardik Pandya, Arshdeep Singh, Avesh Khan and Mohammad Siraj is a cause for concern.
The Aussies, meanwhile, will be extremely happy about the form of many of their players. Pat Cummins, Travis Head and Marcus Stoinis have been in sizzling form in the IPL, even though veteran quick Mitchell Starc has hit a rough patch. Uncapped Jake Fraser-McGurk has dazzled with his hitting ability and should be in the mix, especially since the likes of David Warner and Mitchell Marsh are out of form and injured, respectively.
The T20 World Cup runs from June 1 to 29, with the final in Barbados.
