India to play Pakistan on October 24 in ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2021

The International Cricket Council (ICC) has announced the schedule and fixture list of the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2021, with Australia opening the proceedings against South Africa in a Super 12 Group 1 encounter on October 23 in Abu Dhabi.

Before the official commencement of ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2021, eight teams will battle in Round 1 for four spots in Super 12. The teams in Round 1 are: 

Group A: Ireland, Netherlands, Sri Lanka and Namibia

Group B: Oman, Papua New Guinea, Scotland, Bangladesh 

Oman will begin the Round 1 matches with a clash against Papua New Guinea on October 17.

ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2021 Round 1 fixtures

Sunday, October 17: Oman vs Papua New Guinea

Bangladesh vs Scotland

Monday, October 18: Ireland vs Netherlands

Sri Lanka vs Namibia

Tuesday, October 19: Scotland vs Papua New Guinea

Oman vs Bangladesh

Wednesday, October 20: Namibia vs Netherlands

Sri Lanka vs Ireland

Thursday, October 21: Bangladesh vs Papua New Guinea

Oman vs Scotland

Friday, October 22: Namibia vs Ireland

Sri Lanka vs Netherlands

The top two teams from each group will qualify for Super 12, which begins on October 23 in Abu Dhabi. Group 1 teams Australia and England will take on South Africa and West Indies respectively.

Australia and England will clash on October 30 in Dubai and the Group 1 matches will conclude on November 6 with a match between England vs South Africa in Sharjah.

ICC T20 World Cup 2021: Group schedule, fixtures and India match times

Group 2 will begin with the most anticipated match between India and Pakistan on October 24 in Dubai. India will next face New Zealand on October 31 followed by a match against Afghanistan on November 3. They will next face the winner of Group B from Round 1 before concluding their group stage matches against the second-placed Round 1 qualifier from Group A on November 8.

Following the conclusion of group stage games, the semi-final rounds will commence, with a reserve day slotted for each fixture. The final will be held on November 14 with November 15 kept as a reserve day.

ICC has allowed each team to bring as many as 15 players and eight officials to the UAE, as confirmed by a member of the Pakistan Cricket Board. Furthermore, while New Zealand have already announced their squad for the T20 World Cup, the international cricket board has set a deadline of September 10 for all the teams to submit their final squad list.

"The ICC has also allowed all participating nations to bring additional players with their squads because of the COVID-19 situation and bio-secure bubble but the concerned boards will have to bear the costs of these additional players," he told PTI.

The ICC has also allowed the teams to make last-minute changes in the squad five days before they begin their quarantine period.

Will Afghanistan play in T20 World Cup 2021?

Amidst the turmoil Afghanistan is in at the moment, their cricket team's media manager Hikmat Hassan has confirmed that the team will play in the T20 World Cup.

"Yes, we will play in the T20 World Cup,” he said. 

“The preparations are on and the available players will be back to training in Kabul in the next few days. We are looking for a venue for the tri-series involving Australia and West Indies and that will be the best preparation for the showpiece event. We are speaking to some countries like Sri Lanka and also I think Malaysia. Let's see how that pans out.

Featured photo: AFP / Jewel Samad