- Tuesday, February 25, 2025
By: Shubham Ghosh
THE T20 World Cup will kick off just days after the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) concludes and the Indian team is likely to check in into the same hotel where the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) squad is staying at the moment – Th8 Palm – in Dubai.
The mega event will be held in the United Arab Emirates, where the concluding phase of the IPL is being played, besides Oman.
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According to a report by Asian News International, the Board of Control for Cricket in India has zeroed in on the CSK squad’s hotel as the home for the Indian team while they stay in the Gulf for the World Cup. India’s first game in the tournament will be on October 24 when they take on arch-rivals Pakistan in a Group B fixture at Dubai International Cricket Stadium. CSK captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni is also a member of the India World Cup squad, not as a player but mentor.
Members of the Indian squad are already in the UAE playing for the IPL and they will be joined by the support staff in Dubai on October 2.
“The Indian team is likely to stay at Th8 Palm. The deal is yet to be finalized, but this one has been zeroed in on. As for the coaching staff, they are set to arrive around October 2 and undergo six-day quarantine before they can be a part of the T20 World Cup bubble,” informed sources told ANI.
The World Cup will kick off with the Round 1 Group B game between hosts Oman and Papua New Guinea at the Oman Cricket Academy Ground in Al Amarat on October 17. In another match on the opening day, Bangladesh will take on Scotland in the same group. The next day, Ireland will play the Netherlands while former champions Sri Lanka will play Namibia in Group A fixtures in Abu Dhabi, the UAE. The Round 1 games will continue till October 22 and two teams from each group will qualify for the Super 12 phase featuring the frontline teams.
The Super 12 phase has two groups comprising six teams each and this phase will begin on October 23 when Australia will take on South Africa in Abu Dhabi and England and defending champions West Indies will lock horns in Dubai.
The top two teams from each group will proceed to the semi-finals which will be played on November 10 and 11 in Abu Dhabi and Dubai, respectively. The final will be played in Dubai on November 14 with Monday (15) kept as the reserve day.
India (2007), Pakistan (2009), England (2010) and Sri Lanka (2014) have won the tournament once. The West Indies have won it twice (2012 and 2016).
