On Tuesday, the International Cricket Council (ICC) has finally announced the ICC T20 World Cup 2021 schedule and the tournament is all set to take place from October 17 to November 14 this year. Notably, the Qualifiers of the tournament will be played from October 17 to October 22 while the main tournament will be commencing from October 23.

The ICC had earlier announced that the team will be divided into our groups during league stages. The groups were divided on the basis of the ICC T20 Team Rankings as of 20 March 2021. In the Super 12s, Team India has been placed alongside arch-rivals Pakistan, New Zealand, and Afghanistan in Group 2. In Group 1, England, Australia, South Africa, and West Indies will compete for the knockout rounds.

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The ICC T20 World Cup 2021 schedule was announced by the International Cricket Council on Tuesday. It was already confirmed that India and Pakistan will be locking horns against each other on October 24 in the T20 World Cup 2021.

Round 1

The tournament will be commencing with the Round 1 Group B encounter between hosts Oman and Papua New Guinea at 2 pm local time on 17 October, with Scotland and Bangladesh, the other teams in Group B, locking horns with each other in the evening match at 6 pm.

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Ireland, Netherlands, Sri Lanka, and Namibia – making up Group A – will be in action in Abu Dhabi the next day, with Round 1 matches will be laid till 22 October. The top two teams in each group will proceed to the Super 12 stage of the tournament, scheduled to be commencing on 23 October.

Super 12

The second round of the tournament – the Super12 stage – will be commencing in Abu Dhabi on 23 October, with the Group 1 contest between Australia and South Africa. This will be followed up with an evening clash between England and West Indies in Dubai.

Old rivals England and Australia will be facing each other horns in Dubai on 30 October. The group will conclude on 6 November with matches between Australia and West Indies in Abu Dhabi, and England and South Africa in Sharjah.

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Group 2 will commence with a heavyweight clash between the arch-rivals, India and Pakistan in Dubai on 24 October at 6 pm local time. Pakistan will face New Zealand in Sharjah on 26 October, in a tough start for the 2009 champions. Afghanistan begins its campaign on 25 October at Sharjah, taking on the winners of Group B from the first round.

The group will conclude on 8 November, with India locking horns in the second-placed Round 1 qualifier from Group A.

Semi-finals

The first semi-final will be held in Abu Dhabi on 10 November at 6 pm local time. The second semi-final will be hosted by Dubai on 11 November. Both semi-finals have a cushion of a reserve day each. 

The final

The marquee clash of the tournament will take place in Dubai at 6 pm local time on 14 November, Sunday, with Monday acting as the reserve day for the final.

A long-awaited cricket fest will be commencing with the resumption of IPL 2021 from September 19 in the UAE. Notably, IPL 2021 came to a halt when certain players and staff members tested positive for COVID-19 during the tournament.

The groupings of the ICC T20 World Cup 2021 are as follows:  

Round 1

• Group A: Sri Lanka, Ireland, the Netherlands, and Namibia
• Group B: Bangladesh, Scotland, Papua New Guinea and Oman

Super 12s

• Group 1: England, Australia, South Africa, West Indies, A1, and B2.
• Group 2: India, Pakistan, New Zealand, Afghanistan, A2, and B1.