T20 World Cup 2022: ICC to announce fixtures on January 21

The International Cricket Council (ICC) on Monday announced that the fixtures for the T20 World Cup in Australia next year will be announced on January 21, 2022. While usually a biennial event, the event will have two consecutive editions by the time the 2022 edition concludes, thanks to Covid-19 pandemic that pushed the 2020 edition to 2021.

The most recent edition, which was shifted from India to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Oman due to the pandemic situation in the Asian nation, concluded in November, with Aaron Finch’s Australia trumping Kane Williamson’s New Zealand in the final clash to lift their maiden title.

As for the next edition, the ICC has confirmed that a total of 45 matches will be played across Adelaide, Brisbane, Geelong, Hobart, Melbourne, Perth and Sydney between 16 October and 13 November next year.

The ICC issued a statement on December 6 (Monday) stating, “The ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2022 is less than 11 months away and fans can soon start preparing their World Cup experience with the full fixture set to be announced on January 21, 2022. With the announcement of the fixture, fans will be able to plan which matches they want to attend and where, before tickets go on sale to the public on February 7, 2022.”

“The final of the T20 World Cup will be played under lights at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) on November 13, 2022, while the semifinals will be hosted at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) and Adelaide Oval on November 9 and 10, respectively.

“As announced in November, ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2021 champions Australia and runner-up New Zealand plus Afghanistan, Bangladesh, England, India, Pakistan and South Africa as the next highest ranked teams will gain direct entry into the Super 12 stage of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2022.

“Namibia, Scotland, Sri Lanka and the West Indies will play in Round 1. The four remaining spots at Australia 2022 will be filled via the ongoing qualification pathway, culminating in two global qualifying tournaments one to take place in Oman in February and the other in Zimbabwe in July,” the release added further.

The upcoming one will be the eighth edition of the multi-team tournament, which started in 2007.