Sports: The tenth T20 World Cup cricket tournament will begin on Saturday (February 7) in India and Sri Lanka and will run until March 8.
In the last of the three matches on the opening day, defending champions India will face the United States. The first two matches will see the Netherlands take on Pakistan and Scotland play against the West Indies. All of Pakistan’s matches will be played in Sri Lanka.
The 20 teams participating in the tournament have been divided into four groups of five teams each. At the end of the group stage, the top two teams from each group will qualify for the Super 8 stage.
In this stage, the eight teams will be divided into two groups of four teams each. At the end of that round, the top two teams from each group will advance directly to the semi-finals.
As far as the competition is concerned, the Indian team is considered to have a good chance of retaining the Champions Trophy. India, who are also the defending champions of the Asia Cup, have dominated this format in the recently concluded bilateral series.
Therefore, it would be fitting if the Indian team were to become world champions again. Almost all the players are in good form, so it would be a major upset if India were to suffer a defeat.
Abhishek Sharma, Ishan Kishan, captain Suryakumar Yadav, and Tilak Varma form the strong batting lineup of the team. Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, and Shivam Dube are the all-rounders, while Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav, and Varun Chakravarthy are ready to pose a challenge in the bowling department.
After India, there is no doubt that Australia, England, New Zealand, South Africa, Sri Lanka, and Pakistan will challenge each other in the race to win the trophy.
Besides these, countries like the West Indies, Afghanistan, Zimbabwe, and the United States will also be actively participating. Countries like Oman, Scotland, Nepal, Namibia, Italy, and Canada can be considered to be participating in the tournament to gain experience in the world of international cricket.
Politics: Beyond cricket, the T20 World Cup has also attracted attention for political reasons. Bangladesh requested the ICC to shift its matches to Sri Lanka, citing security concerns for its team in India. The ICC rejected this request, and after Bangladesh persisted, the team was withdrawn from the tournament and replaced by Scotland.
Pakistan has announced that, in solidarity with Bangladesh, it will boycott only its match against India in this tournament. Uncertainty remains regarding what action the ICC will take on this matter.
