The International Cricket Council (ICC) announced the match schedules and ticket sale plans for the ICC World Twenty20 Bangladesh 2014, which will be staged from March 16th to April 6th 2014.
As the teams’ seeding are based on the Reliance ICC T20I Team Rankings as on October 8th 2012, the top eight sides following the conclusion of the ICC World Twenty20 Sri Lanka 2012 will play directly in the Super 10 stage, while Bangladesh and Zimbabwe, which finished outside the top eight, will participate in the first round that will be held from March 16th – 21st.
The first round of the Men’s event will include eight sides that will be divided into two groups of four teams each, with the table-toppers progressing to the Super 10 stage.
In the first round, Group A will feature host Bangladesh alongside three teams that will qualify from the ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier UAE 2013 that includes Bermuda, to be staged from November 15th to 30th. Group B will include Zimbabwe, which will be joined by another three teams from the upcoming qualifiers. As such, the two groups will be finalized on November 30th.
The West Indies’ Men will defend the title they won last year in Colombo while Australia’s Women will aim to complete a hat-trick of titles after having won the previous two finals in Barbados and Colombo.
As many as 60 tournament matches (35 men’s and 25 women’s) will be played across Chittagong, Dhaka and Sylhet in the 22-day Tournament. As in the past, the Women’s Semi-Finals and Final will be held on the same day as the Men’s Semi-Finals and Final, and at the same venue.
The format for the Men’s event in next year’s tournament has been changed following an increase in teams from 12 to 16.
The Super 10 stage will start with an evening match between former champions India and Pakistan in Dhaka on Friday March 21st.
The two groups of the Super 10 stage are:
Super 10 (S10) Groups (Based on teams’ rankings on the Reliance ICC T20I Team Rankings as on 8 October 2012)
Group 1 – Sri Lanka, England, South Africa, New Zealand, Group B Qualifier 1 (Q1B)
Group 2 – West Indies, India, Pakistan, Australia, Group A Qualifier 1 (Q1A)
Reigning champion the West Indies will launch its title defense against India in an evening match on Sunday March 23rd. Earlier on the same day, Pakistan will lock horns with Australia, which is looking for the only global title that has eluded it to date.
If Bangladesh reaches the Super 10 stage, it will play all its matches in Dhaka, facing the West Indies on March 25th, India on March 28th, Pakistan on March 30th and Australia on April 1st.
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