(MENAFN- Khaleej Times) Published: Wed 23 Nov 2022, 10:27 PM
The International Cricket Council (ICC) has announced that the expanded T20 global showpiece that will take place in the West Indies and the USA will have a brand new look.
With as many as 20 teams, the highest in the sport's history, taking part in the upcoming edition the ICC has created a format where four groups of five teams each compete in the early Group stage.
The top two sides from each group will then qualify for the Super 8 phase, where they will be split into two groups of four teams each. The top two teams from each will advance to the semi-finals.
In the two previous editions of the tournament featuring 16 teams, the first round comprised four groups, including teams that entered the tournament through the qualifying round and teams that finished between the ninth and 12th place in the last T20 World Cup.
Subsequently, the top two sides from each group in the first round joined the rest of the 8 teams that had already qualified for the Super 12 stage.
A total of 12 teams have already secured their positions in the 2024 edition while USA and West Indies, being the hosts, have automatically qualified.
Reigning champions England, who recently triumphed in the 2022 T20 World Cup in Australia, will be joined by India, Pakistan, New Zealand, Sri Lanka, and Australia.
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South Africa and the Netherlands have qualified having finished in the top eight of the 2022 edition of the T20 World Cup. Apart from these 10 sides, Afghanistan and Bangladesh, the next two best teams on ICC's T20I rankings as per the cut-off date of November 14, 2022, have also secured their spots.
The remaining eight positions will be decided through a process of playing regional qualifiers. Africa, Asia, and Europe will have two qualification spots, while the Americas and East-Asia Pacific regions will have one place each.
The tournament will be ground-breaking for the USA who will be hosting their first global ICC event.