The International Cricket Council (ICC) on Tuesday began the 2024 T20 World Cup Trophy Tour in New York with two-time world champion Chris Gayle, along with United States’ (US) Ali Khan, commencing the tour.
The Trophy Tour began at the Empire State Building where Gayle and Ali posed with the trophy on top of the building.
A total of 55 matches will be played across the US and West Indies and over three million applications are already on the public ballot with additional tickets being released for 51 of them.
The trophy, which is termed “Out of this World”, will visit 15 countries across four continents where it will be graced by legendary cricketers in some of the best stadiums in the world.
Apart from renowned cricketing nations, the trophy will also visit emerging countries like Brazil, Argentina, Canada and others so that people can connect with the sport and raise their interest in it.
The Trophy Tour Schedule for the first month is available below:
18-20 March: New York
21-23 March: Houston, Grand Prairie and Dallas
26-27 March: Buenos Aires
28-29 March: Sao Paulo
3-4 April: Jamaica
13-14 April: Barbados
17-18 April: Antigua and Barbuda
19-20 April: Saint Lucia
Groups for T20 World Cup 2024
Group A: India, Pakistan, Ireland, Canada, United States
Group B: England, Australia, Namibia, Scotland, Oman
Group C: New Zealand, West Indies, Afghanistan, Uganda, Papua New Guinea
Group D: South Africa, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Netherlands, Nepal
20 qualifying teams are divided into four groups of five, from which the top two teams of every group will make their way to the Super 8 round.
In that stage, qualifying teams will once again be divided into two groups of four, from which the top two teams will make their way to the semi-final and then the winners will play the final.
This will be the first time since 2010 that a T20 World Cup, which was won by England, will be hosted in the West Indies.
On the other hand, this is the first time an event as big as the World Cup will be hosted by the US.
England are the defending champions after clinching the 2022 T20 World Cup in Australia, beating Pakistan in the final.