Though the much anticipated India vs Pakistan series has been put over a hold by the Indian Government, the International Cricket Council (ICC) had given another boon for the fans to enjoy the clash of the arch-rivals during the ICC World T20 2016, hosted by India.
As per the tournament schedule released by the ICC on Friday, India and Pakistan will play a Group 2 game on March 19 at Dharamsala. Group 2 will comprise of India, Pakistan, New Zealand, Australia and the winner of the Group A.
India will play its other group 2 matches against New Zealand in Nagpur and Australia at Mohali on March 15th and March 27th respectively. In addition India will face the winner of the Group A on March 23rd, in Bangalore. On the other hand, Group 1 consists of Sri Lanka, South Africa, West Indies, England and the winner of Group B from qualifiers.
There will be a Qualifying tournament for one slot each in Group 1 and Group 2. Total eight teams divided into two groups (Group A and Group B) will be playing for a berth in the ICC World T20. Group A comprises of Bangladesh, Netherlands, Ireland and Oman while, Group B consists of Zimbabwe, Scotland, Hong Kong and Afghanistan. The winner from each group will enter Group 1 and Group 2 respectively.
The semi-finals of the ICC World T20 are scheduled be held on March 30 and March 31 in Delhi and Mumbai. The final is slated to be held at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata, on April 3rd, 2016. Except for the final match, no reserve days have been announced for the semi-finals. The ICC said that in case of a washout in a semi-final, the team which has topped the Group stage will be eligible to play the final match.
Speaking at the launch of the ICC World T20 2016 trophy in Mumbai, the ICC Chairman Mr Shashank Manohar said “We are confident that this will be another successful event in India, after the previous 2011 World cup. We look forward to make the tournament a big success. I cordially invite cricket fans all over the world to come and watch the most entertaining format of cricket in India”.
