T20 World Cup 2024: ICC announces reserve days for knockout matches

With the T20 World Cup 2024 looming on the horizon, the ICC (International Cricket Council) recently met in Dubai, and reserve days for the knockout matches of the World Cup were announced. The days will be in place for the semi-final and final.

Furthermore, a minimum of five overs have to be bowled to the team batting second for it to constitute a game, with 10 overs being the rule for the knockout stages. The board also approved of the qualification process for the T20 World Cup 2026.

Notably, the event will be held in India and Sri Lanka and will see 12 automatic qualifiers. The remaining eight teams will join the tournament through regional qualifiers.

ICC’s stop clock rule announced as well

The stop clock rule was made a mandate in white-ball cricket, and reserve days were reserved for the knockout stage of the T20 World Cup. As per the rule, the fielding side is expected to start a new over within 60 seconds of the end of the previous over. The electronic clock will be counting down from 60 to zero, with the responsibility on the third umpire to start it.

Also Read: What is Stop Clock rule and when is it being implemented from? - All you need to know about ICC's new rule

Failure to comply with the rules will attract two warnings and lead to a five-run penalty per incident. However, there are a few exceptions to the rule. The exceptions are when a batter comes into bat after a wicket, a drinks break is called, the umpires announce the treatment of an injury to any player, and if the time lost is beyond the control of the fielding side. In the meeting, the board had extensive meetings over the future of the sport and ICC chairman Greg Barclay came forward to reveal how they discussed the cricket calendar and the discussion of the long-term future.

Also read: ICC set to release additional tickets for 13 games including Semifinals on March 19

“The ICC Board and Committee meetings are the forum for us to discuss the long-term future of the international game and at this set of meetings we spent several hours constructively considering the structure of the global cricket calendar,” Barclay said.