Five years on from the last edition, the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup returns this month as 16 teams duke it out for supremacy in the game’s shortest format.

Commencing on 17 October at the Oman Cricket Academy Ground, the showpiece event is scheduled to finish on 14 November in Dubai when the tournament’s two best teams meet in a decider that has plenty to live up to after 2016’s epic conclusion.

Carlos Brathwaite etched his name into cricketing folklore in 2016 when he hit four consecutive sixes in the last over of the Final to power West Indies to their second Men’s T20 World Cup trophy.

The West Indies will be out to become the first team to ever defend their status as Men’s T20 World Cup champions this time around having already become the first to win the trophy twice.

They won’t have an easy time doing that however with 15 high-quality opponents ready to make the trophy theirs.

Here’s everything you need to know about the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2021. 

T20 World Cup fixtures
T20 World Cup squads

The tournament format

This year’s Men’s T20 World Cup takes place in three stages.

Round 1 sees two groups of four teams participating in a round-robin. The top two teams from each group progress to the Super 12 stage. Each of the Round 1 Groups features three teams from the 2019 Qualifier and one of the two automatic qualifiers - Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.

The top seed from Group A and the second seed from Group B enter Group 1 of the Super 12s, with the top seed from Group B and the second seed from Group A going into Group 2.

The Super 12 stage sees two groups of six play a round-robin with the top two teams from each group progressing to the knock-out stage, consisting of two semi-finals and a final.

The two Super 12 groups each feature four of the automatic qualifiers – tournament hosts India and the top seven teams on the MRF Tyres ICC rankings at the cut-off date – and two Round 1 qualifiers.

The points system

In both group stages the following points system will apply:
Win - Two points
Tie, no result or abandoned: One point
Loss or forfeit: Zero points

Are their reserve days?

Yes, for both semi-finals and the final. No other matches shall have a reserve day allocated.

For both the semi-finals and final, every effort will be made to complete the match on the scheduled day with any necessary reduction in overs taking place. Only if the minimum number of overs necessary to constitute a match (at least 5 overs per side) cannot be bowled on the scheduled day will the match be completed on the reserve day.

If a match starts on the scheduled day and overs are reduced following an interruption but no further play is possible, the match will resume on the reserve day at the point where the last ball was played.

Key dates

Tournament commences: 17 October

The event kicks off with a Round 1, Group B match between co-hosts Oman and Papua New Guinea at Oman Cricket Academy Ground in Al Amerat. Later that day, Group B opponents Bangladesh and Scotland begin their campaign against one another at the same venue.

Group A begins the following day in Abu Dhabi, with Ireland and Netherlands playing the afternoon match, and Sri Lanka and Namibia the evening encounter.

Round 1 finishes: 22 October

Round 1 concludes after a Group A Namibia-Ireland and Sri Lanka-Netherlands double-header at Sharjah.

Group B’s final matches take place in a double-header at Oman Cricket Academy on 21 October.

The top two teams from each group progress to the Super 12 stage.

Super 12 stage commences: 23 October

The Super 12 stage of the tournament kicks off just a day after Round 1 concludes, with Group 1 sides Australia and South Africa meeting in Abu Dhabi.

Group 2 begins the following day with a mouth-watering clash between India and Pakistan in Dubai

Super 12 stage concludes: 8 November

The Super 12 stage wraps up on 8 November with India playing the final match of the phase at Dubai against their group’s Round 1 Group A qualifier.

Semi-finals: 10 November and 11 November

The top two teams from each Super 12 Group progress to the semi-finals, scheduled to be played at Abu Dhabi and Dubai on 10 and 11 November respectively.

Final: 14 November

The tournament reaches its conclusion on 14 November at Dubai International Stadium.

T20 World Cup fixtures

Groups

Round 1

Group A
Sri Lanka, Ireland, Netherlands, Namibia

Group B
Bangladesh, Scotland, Papua New Guinea, Oman 

Super 12

Group 1
England, Australia, South Africa, West Indies, top seed Group A, second seed Group B

Group 2
India, Pakistan, New Zealand, Afghanistan, second seed Group A, top seed Group B

TEAMS

Sri Lanka

Group: A, Round 1
ICC T20I ranking: 10^th

Squad
Dasun Shanaka (captain), Kusal Janith Perera, Dinesh Chandimal, Dhananjaya De Silva, Pathum Nissanka, Charith Asalanka, Avishka Fernando, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Chamika Karunaratne, Wanindu Hasaranga, Dushmantha Chameera, Lahiru Kumara, Maheesh Theekshana, Akila Dananjaya, Binura Fernando.

Fixtures
18 Oct - v NAM
20 Oct - v IRE
22 Oct - v NED

Ireland

Group: A, Round 1
ICC T20I ranking: 12^th

Squad
Andrew Balbirnie (c), Mark Adair, Curtis Campher, Gareth Delany, George Dockrell, Josh Little, Andrew McBrine, Kevin O’Brien, Neil Rock, Simi Singh, Paul Stirling, Harry Tector, Lorcan Tucker, Ben White, Craig Young.

Reserve players: Shane Getkate, Graham Kennedy, Barry McCarthy

Fixtures
18 Oct – v NED
20 Oct – v SL
22 Oct – v NAM

Ireland Team Preview

Netherlands

Group: A, Round 1
ICC T20I ranking: 17^th

Squad
Pieter Seelaar (c), Colin Ackermann, Philippe Boissevain, Ben Cooper, Bas de Leede, Scott Edwards, Brandon Glover, Fred Klaassen, Stephan Myburgh, Max O’Dowd, Ryan Ten Doeschate, Logan van Beek, Timm van der Gugten, Roelof van der Merwe, Paul van Meekeren

Reserves: Shane Snater, Tobias Visee

Fixtures
18 Oct – v IRE
20 Oct – v NAM
22 Oct – v SL

Netherlands Team Preview

Namibia

Group: A, Round 1
ICC T20I ranking: 19^th

Squad
Gerhard Erasmus (c), Stephen Baard, Karl Birkenstock. Michau du Preez, Jan Frylinck, Zane Green, Nicol Lofie-Eaton, Bernard Scholtz, Ben Shikongo, JJ Smit, Ruben Trumpelmann, Michael van Lingen, David Wiese, Craig Williams, Pikky Ya France

Reserves: Mauritius Ngupita

Fixtures
18 Oct – v SL
20 Oct – v NED
22 Oct – v IRE

Namibia Team Preview

Bangladesh

Group: B, Round 1
ICC T20I ranking: 6th

Squad
Mahmud Ullah (Captain), Mohammad Naim Sheikh, Soumya Sarkar, Liton Kumer Das, Shakib Al Hasan, Mushfiqur Rahim, Afif Hossain, Nurul Hasan Sohan, Shak Mahedi Hasan, Nasum Ahmed, Mustafizur Rahman, Shoriful Islam, Taskin Ahmed, Shaif Uddin, Shamim Hossain

Reserves: Animul Islam Biplob, Rubel Hossain

Fixtures
17 Oct – v SCO
19 Oct – v OMA
21 Oct – v PNG

Scotland

Group: B, Round 1
ICC T20I ranking: 14^th

Squad
Kyle Coetzer (captain), Richard Berrington, Dylan Budge, Matthew Cross (wk), Josh Davey, Ally Evans, Chris Greaves, Michael Leask, Calum Macleod, George Munsey, Safyaan Sharif, Hamza Tahir, Craig Wallace, Mark Watt, Brad Wheal

Reserves: Michael Jones, Chris Sole

Fixtures
17 Oct - v BAN
19 Oct - v PNG
21 Oct - v OMA

Papua New Guinea

Group: B, Round 1
ICC T20I ranking: 15^th

Squad:
Assad Vala (c), Charles Amini, Lega Siaka, Norman Vanua, Nosaina Pokana, Kipling Doriga, Tony Ura, Hiri Hiri, Gaudi Toka, Sese Bau, Damien Ravu, Kabua Vagi-Morea, Simon Atai, Jason Kila, Chad Soper, Jack Gardner

Fixtures
17 Oct – v OMA
19 Oct – v SCO
21 Oct – v BAN

Oman

Group: B, Round 1
ICC T20I ranking: 18th

Squad
Zeeshan Maqsood (c), Aqib Ilyas, Jatinder Singh, Khawar Ali, Mohammad Nadeem, Ayaan Khan, Suraj Kumar, Sandeep Goud, Nester Dhamba, Kaleemullah, Bilal Khan, Naseem Khushi, Sufyan Mehmood, Fayyaz Butt, Khurram Nawaz Khan

Fixtures
17 Oct v PNG
19 Oct v BAN
21 Oct v SCO

Oman Team Preview

 

 

England

Group: 1, Super 12
ICC T20I ranking: 1^st

Squad
Eoin Morgan, Moeen Ali, Jonathan Bairstow, Sam Billings, Jos Buttler, Tom Curran, Chris Jordan, Liam Livingstone, Dawid Malan, Tymal Mills, Adil Rashid, Jason Roy, David Willey, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood

Reserves: Liam Dawson, James Vince, Reece Topley 

Fixtures
23 Oct – v WI
27 Oct – v B2
30 Oct – v AUS
1 Nov – v A1
6 Nov – v SA

Australia

Group: 1, Super 12
ICC T20I ranking: 7^th

Squad
Aaron Finch (c), Ashton Agar, Pat Cummins (vc), Josh Hazlewood, Josh Inglis, Mitchell Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Kane Richardson, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Marcus Stoinis, Mitchell Swepson, Matthew Wade, David Warner, Adam Zampa

Reserves: Dan Christian, Nathan Ellis, Daniel Sams

Fixtures
23 Oct – v SA
28 Oct – v A1
30 Oct – v ENG
4 Nov – v B2
6 Nov – v WI

South Africa

Group: 1, Super 12
ICC T20I ranking: 5^th

Squad
Temba Bavuma (c), Keshav Maharaj, Quinton de Kock (wk), Bjorn Fortuin, Reeza Hendricks, Heinrich Klaasen, Aiden Markram, David Miller, Wiaan Mulder, Lungi Ngidi, Anrich Nortje, Dwaine Pretorius, Kagiso Rabada, Tabraiz Shamsi, Rassie van der Dussen

Reserves: George Linde, Andile Phehlukwayo, Lizaad Williams

Fixtures
23 Oct – v AUS
26 Oct – v WI
30 Oct – v A1
2 Nov – v B2
6 Nov – v ENG

West Indies

Group: 1, Super 12
ICC T20I ranking: 9^th

Squad
Kieron Pollard (Captain), Nicholas Pooran (Vice Captain), Fabian Allen, Dwayne Bravo, Roston Chase, Andre Fletcher, Chris Gayle, Shimron Hetmyer, Evin Lewis, Obed McCoy, Lendl Simmons, Ravi Rampaul, Andre Russell, Oshane Thomas, Hayden Walsh jnr

Reserves: Darren Bravo, Sheldon Cottrell, Jason Holder, Akeal Hosein

Fixtures
23 Oct – v ENG
26 Oct – v SA
29 Oct – v B2
4 Nov – v A1
6 Nov – v AUS

India

Group: 2, Super 12
ICC T20I ranking: 2^nd

Squad
Virat Kohli (c), Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant (wk), Ishan Kishan (wk), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Rahul Chahar, Ravichandran Ashwin, Shardul Thakur, Varun Chakravarthy, Jasprit Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammad Shami

Reserves: Shreyas Iyer, Deepak Chahar, Axar Patel

Fixtures
24 Oct – v PAK
31 Oct – v NZ
3 Nov – v AFG
5 Nov – v B1
8 Nov – v A2

Pakistan

Group: 2, Super 12
ICC T20I ranking: 3^rd

Squad
Babar Azam (captain), Shadab Khan (vice-captain), Asif Ali, Fakhar Zaman, Haider Ali, Haris Rauf, Hasan Ali, Imad Wasim, Mohammad Hafeez, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Rizwan, Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Sarfaraz Ahmed, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Shoaib Malik

Traveling reserves: Khushdil Shah, Shahnawaz Dahani, Usman Qadir

Fixtures
24 Oct – v IND
26 Oct – v NZ
29 Oct – v AFG
2 Nov – v A2
7 Nov – v B1

New Zealand

Group: 2, Super 12
ICC T20I ranking: 4^th

Squad
Kane Williamson (c), Todd Astle, Trent Boult, Mark Chapman, Devon Conway, Lockie Ferguson, Martin Guptill, Kyle Jamieson, Daryl Mitchell, Jimmy Neesham, Glenn Phillips, Mitchell Santner, Tim Seifert (wk), Ish Sodhi, Tim Southee

Reserves: Adam Milne

Fixtures
26 Oct – v PAK
31 Oct – v IND
3 Nov – v B1
5 Nov – v A2
7 Nov – v AFG

Afghanistan

Group: 2, Super 12
ICC T20I ranking: 8th

Squad
Mohammad Nabi (c), Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Hazratullah Zazai, Usman Ghani, Mohammad Shahzad, Hashmatullah Shahidi, Asghar Afghan, Gulbadin Naib, Najibullah Zadran, Karim Janat, Rashid Khan, Mujeeb ur Rahman, Hamid Hassan, Farid Ahmed Malik, Naveen ul Haq

Reserves: Sharafuddin Ashraf, Samiullah Shinwari, Dawlat Zadran, Fazal Haq Farooqi

Fixtures
25 Oct – v B1
29 Oct – v PAK
31 Oct – v A2
3  Nov – v IND
7 Nov – v NZ

PRIZE MONEY

All 16 competing teams will receive part of the $US5.6m allocated as prize money for the tournament.

The winners will collect $1.6m, with the runners up receiving $800,000.

Both losing semi-finalists will receive $400,000.

The eight teams knocked out at the end of the Super 12 stage will get $70,000 each. Each match a team wins in the Super 12 stage will see them earn $40,000.

The four teams knocked out at the end of Round 1 will get $40,000. Each match a team wins in the First Round will see them earn $40,000.

VENUES

Dubai International Stadium, Dubai, UAE

The record-holder for the most men’s T20Is hosted, Dubai International Cricket Stadium has witnessed 62 matches in the format.

A part of Dubai Sports City, the ground opened its doors in 2009 and hosted its first international match the same year.

Famous for its ‘ring of fire’, Dubai International Stadium features over 300 floodlights fixed around the circumference of the stadium, reducing the appearance of shadows during night-time cricket.

The ground hosted the 2018 Asia Cup Final between Bangladesh and India, and the Final of the ICC Men's T20 World Cup Qualifier 2019.

It will host 13 matches, including one semi-final and the Final of this year’s T20 World Cup.

Sharjah Cricket Stadium, Sharjah, UAE

First used for international cricket in 1984, Sharjah has hosted an incredible 263 international men’s matches – only the Sydney Cricket Ground (277) and Melbourne Cricket Ground (275) have hosted more games. The 240 men’s ODIs it has hosted is 91 more than the next most used venue, the SCG (159).

Unsurprisingly, with so much cricket played at the ground, the venue is rich in the sport’s history. In 1986, it witnessed Javed Miandad’s famous last-ball six against India and in 1998 Sachin Tendulkar’s incredible back-to-back centuries against Australia.

The T20 World Cup will be another chapter added to the famous ground’s story.  The venue will host 11 matches.

Sheikh Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi, UAE

The second most used venue in men’s T20I history, Abu Dhabi’s Sheikh Zayed Stadium has hosted 48 matches in the format.

Opened in 2004, the ground hosted its inaugural first-class match later that year, with Scotland taking on Kenya. The ground’s first official international fixture came two years later when India played Pakistan in an ODI.

Alongside the ICC Academy and Dubai International Stadium, it hosted the qualifying tournament in 2019.

It will host 15 matches including one semi-final.

Oman Cricket Academy Ground, Al Amerat, Oman

Opened in 2012 and endowed by the late Sultan Qaboos bin Said, the Oman Cricket Academy Ground is the jewel in the crown of Omani Cricket.

Holding official ICC Test accreditation, the ground has so far hosted 30 T20Is, as well as 15 ODIs.

Blessed by a background of the Al Hajar Mountains in the distance, the ground sits in a basin just outside of Muscat, about a twenty-minute drive from the middle of town.

It will host six T20 World Cup matches.