India’s Virat Kohli, right, and Pakistan’s Babar Azam have been key players for their respective nations in all formats before the match [File: Hamad I Mohammed/Reuters)
India and Pakistan will face each other in New York in their group-stage match at the T20 World Cup 2024.
The cricketing rivals have been scheduled to play at the 34,000-seat modular stadium in Long Island on June 9.
Tournament co-host, the United States, will open the ninth edition of the event against its North American neighbour, Canada, on June 1 in Dallas.
The defending champions, England, are in the same group as Ashes rivals Australia, and will play each other on June 8 in Barbados.
The International Cricket Council (ICC) announced the schedule on Friday, six months before the expanded 20-team tournament, which runs until June 29 when joint co-hosts, the West Indies, will host the final in Barbados.
The top two teams from each of the four groups will progress to the Super Eight round in an event that will comprise 55 matches.
“The T20 World Cup 2024 marks an exciting expansion of our sport with more teams than ever before set to compete in this event,” ICC chief executive Geoff Allardice said.
Pakistan’s Mohammad Rizwan and Babar Azam celebrate after beating India in the Super 12 stage in 2021 [File: Hamad I Mohammed/Reuters]
“It’s going to be an incredible spectacle bringing together teams from Africa, the Americas, Asia, East-Asia Pacific and Europe.”
Florida completes the three US venues to host group stage matches, although the tournament thereafter will solely be staged in the Caribbean.
The schedule for the 2023 Cricket World Cup, the one-day international equivalent ICC event, was only announced four months before the tournament, leaving fans irked by the timeframe for which to make travel arrangements.
Presenting the 2⃣0⃣ teams that will battle for ICC Men’s #T20WorldCup 2024 🏆
✍: https://t.co/Oqz5IqMMV4 pic.twitter.com/PdPo5r8Zf4
— T20 World Cup (@T20WorldCup) November 30, 2023
Cricket West Indies chief executive Johnny Graves said Friday’s announcement marked a “significant milestone” in their preparations.
“We know that teams, fans and cricket enthusiasts worldwide have been eagerly awaiting this announcement,” Graves said.
“Now that it is available, it provides a roadmap for the thrilling journey that lies ahead.”
India were defeated finalists on home soil at the recent 50-over World Cup as Australia upset the odds to win by six wickets in Ahmedabad. They were also left frustrated in the 2021 T20 World Cup, finishing just outside the qualification spot from their Super 12 group.
Pakistan topped that group, beating India by 10 wickets on the way, but were knocked out at the semifinal stage by Australia. They finished fifth in the group to miss out on a place in the last four at the 2023 50-over tournament in India, where the host nation exacted revenge for the 2021 defeat.
