It's India vs Pakistan on March 19 as ICC launches World T20 2016

Mumbai: Arch-rivals India and Pakistan were on Friday placed in the same group for next year's ICC World Twenty20, setting the stage for a high-voltage clash between the two sides on March 19 in Dharamsala.

The ICC on Friday unveiled the groups and schedule of the event, which will be staged across eight venues in India from March 8 to April 3.

The two countries are currently undecided on whether to engage in a bilateral series later this month owing to political tensions.

While the Eden Gardens will host the final of the tournament on April 3, Delhi and Mumbai will host the semifinals on March 30 and March 31 respectively. 

India will open their campaign against New Zealand on March 15 in Nagpur before taking on Pakistan. India's other matches will be against the qualifying Group A winners in Bengaluru on March 23 and Australia in Mohali on March 27.

"A total of 58 tournament matches, including 35 men’s matches and 23 women’s matches, will be played in the 27-day tournament in Bengaluru, Chennai, Dharamsala, Kolkata, Mohali, Mumbai, Nagpur and New Delhi," said ICC.

"The men’s event will carry a total prize money of $5.6million, which is an 86 per cent increase from the 2014 tournament, while the total prize money for the women’s event is $400,000, which is a 122 per cent increase from the Bangladesh event," added cricket's governing body.

According to the men’s event format, eight sides in two groups of four, will feature in the first round matches with the group winners joining eight sides in the Super 10 stage (two groups of five teams).

The top two sides from both the Super 10 Groups will then qualify for the semifinals.

In the women’s event, the 10 sides will be divided into two groups and the top two sides from each group will progress to the semifinals.

The women's semifinals and final will be followed by the men's knock-out matches. There is a reserve day for the finals.

India, Pakistan, New Zealand and Australia are placed in one group in Super 10s while the other group includes South Africa, Bangladesh, West Indies and England. Two qualifying teams will join the other eight teams in Super 10s after the first stage of the tournament. 

The first round matches in the men’s event will take place in Dharamsala and Nagpur from 8-13 March and will feature Bangladesh, Netherlands, Ireland, debutant Oman (all in Group A), Zimbabwe, Scotland, Hong Kong and Afghanistan (all in Group B).

In a double-header on the opening day on 8 March, Zimbabwe will face Hong Kong in the afternoon match, to be followed by the evening match between Scotland and Afghanistan. Both the matches will be played in Nagpur.

There have been five different winners of the men's event while the England women's team won the inaugural tournament at home in 2009 before Australia won three straight titles in the West Indies, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh in 2010, 2012 and 2014, respectively.

ICC Chairman and BCCI president Shashank Manohar said, “India is a country where cricket is a religion and not many places can match the passion for the game like India. I am fully confident that the Board of Control for Cricket in India will deliver an outstanding world cricket event, just like the ICC Cricket World Cups in 1987, 1996 and 2011.”

“The ICC and BCCI are fully committed and will work together to make this a memorable event. I invite fans from across the world to witness fast-paced cricketing action on the field and enjoy the hospitality and culture of India, off it,” he added.

ICC Chief Executive David Richardson said: “The ICC World Twenty20 is an event which puts the world’s best cricketers in the shortest format of the game against each other in a nation versus nation contest.
 
“The Twenty20 format provides the perfect vehicle by which the ICC can further globalise the game, providing international exposure and opportunity to our top Associate and Affiliate members. The ICC World Twenty20 event structure is designed to provide highly competitive matches throughout, with eight evenly-matched sides fighting it out in the first round and the best two then getting in the mix with the top eight ranked teams in the Super 10 stage where the intensity and competition will be of the very highest level.”

Anurag Thakur, BCCI secretary, said, “We, as hosts, are fully prepared to organise one of the most entertaining spectacles in world cricket. We draw experience from hosting three ICC Cricket World Cups and are ready to make the ICC World Twenty20 India 2016 one of the most memorable events.”
 
“Our preparations are in full swing, and BCCI and ICC is working together to make it a lifetime experience for the players and the fans. India is a vibrant country – young, full of colour, energy and exuberance - and is very much like the concept of Twenty20 cricket itself. We would encourage everyone involved with the game to experience the best of India,” he concluded/