India are placed in Group A alongside arch-rivals Pakistan, Ireland, Canada and co-hosts USA. India will begin their campaign against Ireland on June 5 at the Nassau County International Cricket Stadium
Our Bureau
Mumbai/New York
India will be playing the second-semifinal of the ICC T20 World Cup on June 27 at Providence, Guyana, if they happen to make it to the knockouts. India has been allocated the Guyana semifinal likely due to match timings as the first semifinal, set to take place in Tarouba, Trinidad from 8:30 PM local time on June 26, is a night game. However, the Guyana semifinal will be starting at 10:30 AM local time, which as per Indian Standard Time, is a much TV-friendly slot of 8 PM.
The final, to be held at Bridgetown, Barbados on June 29, will take place at 10 AM local time, will happen at 7:30 PM in India, as per ESPNCricinfo.
As per the playing conditions accessed by ESPNCricinfo, there will be no reserve day for the second semifinal. However, an extra of 250 minutes worth of time will be given to the match, rather than 190 minutes given to the first semifinal and final, which have reserve days.
The additional hour of extra time has been added since the tournament schedule does not allow for a reserve day. If reserve day was given for semifinal two, it would have meant just a day’s worth of gap for recovery and practice between that game and the final.
The second semifinal could be in for a tight squeeze if persistent rain takes place because as per rules, a result can only be decided if both teams bat for at least 10 overs.
In the majority of T20 games, the teams batting second are supposed to bat for just five overs at least in order to achieve a result. This system will be in place for the majority of the ICC T20 World Cup matches. But in the knockout games though, teams batting second will have to face at least 10 overs in order to decide on a result as per the Duckworth-Lewis method. This was also the case for the knockout games in the 2022 T20 World Cup in Australia.
India are placed in Group A of the ICC tournament alongside arch-rivals Pakistan, Ireland, Canada and co-hosts USA.
India will begin their T20 World Cup campaign against Ireland on June 5 at the Nassau County International Cricket Stadium, New York, followed by the marquee clash against Pakistan on June 9 at the same venue. India will then play the USA and Canada on June 12 and 15 respectively.
India squad: Rohit Sharma (c), Hardik Pandya (vc), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant (wk), Sanju Samson (wk), Shivam Dube, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Arshdeep Singh, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohd. Siraj
Reserves: Shubman Gill, Rinku Singh, Khaleel Ahmed and Avesh Khan.
Nassau stadium nears completion
The Nassau County International Cricket Stadium in New York has reached the final stages of completion less than a month before the start of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024.
The four drop-in pitches cultivated with native Tahoma 31 Bermuda grass have now been installed at the ground while the north and south premium hospitality and media pavilions structures are on track for imminent completion.
Additional tickets for all the matches at the stadium, including the India vs Pakistan match, will be available through hospitality tickets inclusive of food and beverages.
Fans can be a part of history by grabbing their tickets on the official T20 World Cup website.
Nassau County International Cricket Stadium will witness its first match on 3 June when Sri Lanka takes on South Africa in their opening Group D encounter. The 34,000-capacity stadium will also host the much-awaited clash between arch-rivals India and Pakistan on 9 June.
Meanwhile, anticipation for the T20 World Cup continues to soar, fueled by the release of the official anthem, ‘Out of this World,’ performed by Grammy award-winning artist Sean Paul and Soca superstar Kes getting the fans in the groove for the tournament.
“As we reach the final stages of construction of the Nassau County International Cricket Stadium we are delighted to see a world-class facility ready for the best cricketers in the world. We can’t wait to see fans experience their own bit of history, with hospitality options across all matches in New York, including India and Pakistan, we would encourage fans to book now before they sell out,” said ICC Head of Events, Chris Tetley while speaking about the stadium.
India to take on Bangladesh in warm-up match
The warm-up matches for the ICC T20 World Cup will take place from May 27 to June 1 across the Caribbean and USA, with India playing their sole warm-up game against Bangladesh on the final day of fixtures.
The ICC T20 World Cup will take place in the West Indies and the USA from June 1 to June 29.
The venues hosting the 16 warm-up matches ahead of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024 include Grand Prairie Cricket Stadium in Texas, Broward County Stadium in Florida, Queen’s Park Oval and Brian Lara Cricket Academy in Trinidad and Tobago, as per the ICC.
A total of 17 teams play the warm-up games, including South Africa, who are playing an intra-squad on the 29th in Florida.
These warm-up fixtures will be 20 overs per side and will not have international T20 status, allowing teams to field all members of their 15-player squad.
In a departure from the previous cycle, teams can now choose to play up to two warm-up matches, depending on their arrival time at the event.
The match between the West Indies and Australia at Queen’s Park Oval, Trinidad and Tobago on Thursday, May 30 will be open to fans. Tickets can be purchased at tickets.t20worldcup.com or at box offices located at the National Cricket Centre and Queen’s Park Oval from May 16 onwards.
BCCI invites applications head coach till 2027
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Monday invited the applications for position of men’s national team head coach, with the tenure starting from July 1 this year and concluding on December 31, 2027, which will the year when the next 50-over Cricket World Cup will take place.
After India could not lift the ICC Cricket World Cup at home last year in November after reaching finals, the current head coach Rahul Dravid was given an extension till June, which also marks the month during which the ICC T20 World Cup in West Indies and USA will take place from June 1 to 29.
The deadline for application will be till May 27, 6 PM.
“The BCCI on Monday invited applications for the position of Head Coach of the Senior Men’s Team. Applications for the position should be submitted by 6PM IST on May 27, 2024,” said a statement from BCCI.
The selection process will include a thorough review of applications, followed by personal interviews and assessments of shortlisted candidates.
BCCI has put out the qualifications for a potential head coach as:
“Should have played a minimum of 30 Test Matches or 50 ODI’s or head coach of a full member Test playing nation, for a minimum period of 2 years; or the head coach of an Associate member/Indian Premier League (IPL) Team or equivalent international league/first class eams/
national A teams, for a minimum period of 3 years; or Should have BCCI Level 3 Certification or equivalent; and should be below 60 years of age.”
India are placed in Group A of the T20 WC this year alongside arch-rivals Pakistan, Ireland, Canada and co-hosts USA.
India will begin their T20 World Cup campaign against Ireland on June 5 at the Nassau County International Cricket Stadium, New York, followed by the marquee clash against Pakistan on June 9 at the same venue. India will then play the USA and Canada on June 12 and 15 respectively.
