The Covid-19 pandemic is having a positive spinoff for cricket lovers, at least.  Australia will host the ICC Men's T20 World Cup in 2022 as reigning champions in October-November. The tournament comes less than a year of the previous World Cup in the UAE and Oman, which originally India was to host, but could not do it because of the pandemic.

Australia was originally meant to host the tournament in 2020, but it was postponed due to COVID-19. 

The schedule for the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2022 was announced on Friday. India will be locking horns against Pakistan in their first match of the tournament on October 23 at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG). India clashed with Pakistan in an electrifying curtain-raiser to their 2021 T20 World Cup campaign on October 24, with the latter trouncing their arch-rivals by ten wickets.

 The meeting between both sides has been largely confined to ICC tournaments over the past few years, with India emerging victorious in all their five encounters against Pakistan in the T20 World Cups previously, with Pakistan turning the tables on them in 2021.

 The 2022 tournament will be held between October 16- November 13, and 16 countries will be competing in over 45 matches to be played across seven Australian venues -- Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Adelaide, Geelong, Hobart and Perth.

2014 champions Sri Lanka and Namibia will play the opening match of the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2022 at Kardinia Park, Geelong on Sunday, October 16. They'll be joined by two qualifiers in Group A. Two-time champions West Indies will also start in the First Round, joined in Group B by Scotland, and two qualifiers in Hobart.

In the Super 12, hosts Australia are in Group 1 with world number one England, New Zealand, Afghanistan plus the winner of Group A and the runner-up in Group B from the First Round. Group 2 features India, Pakistan, South Africa, Bangladesh, plus the winner of Group B and runner-up in Group A from the First Round.

Hosts and defending champions, Australia will play New Zealand in the opening match of the Super 12 at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) on Saturday, October 22 in a re-match of the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2021 final in Dubai. The Black Caps will also face England at The Gabba on 1 November in a re-match of their epic semi-final encounter at the 2021 event.

The semi-finals will be played at the SCG and Adelaide Oval on November 9 and 10, respectively. The final will be contested under lights at the MCG on November 13.

Defending champions Australia and runners-up New Zealand plus England, India, Pakistan, South Africa, Afghanistan and Bangladesh as the next highest-ranked teams have gained direct entry into the Super 12 stage of the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2022.

Sri Lanka, West Indies, Scotland, and Namibia have qualified but will start the event in the First Round. The four remaining spots at Australia 2022 will be filled via the ongoing qualification pathway, culminating in two global qualifying tournaments in early 2022.

International Cricket Council CEO Geoff Allardice said in an official release: "T20 is the global growth format for cricket and the ICC T20 World Cup 2022 will play a huge role in inspiring our next generation of players and fans as the world's best players descend on Australia and showcase the very best of our sport. The release of fixtures is always a great moment in the delivery of a World Cup as fans start to get excited about opening games, head to heads, and knock-out stages."

"This schedule offers so much, from the 2014 Champions Sri Lanka opening the event, to our defending champions Australia starting with a rematch of the 2021 Men's T20 World Cup Final against New Zealand and of course India taking on Pakistan at the MCG. We know that hundreds of thousands of passionate cricket fans will turn out to support every single one of the 16 teams across all seven of our host cities which is what makes it so special for the players. You only need to cast your mind back to the brilliant ICC Women's T20 World Cup 2020 in Australia to know that this is going to be a wonderful event for players and fans alike," he added.

(SAM)