ICC announces groups for 2021 T20 World Cup; India placed in Group B alongside Pakistan

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Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli

The ICC on Thursday announced the groups for the Men’s T20 World Cup 2021, scheduled to start in Oman and the UAE from October 17.

Defending champions West Indies are a part of Group one with former champions England, Australia, South Africa, and two qualifiers from Round 1 joining them. Afghanistan, India, Pakistan, and New Zealand, and the other two qualifiers from Round 1 are in the Group two.

The main rounds of the showpiece will be played across three venues - Dubai, Abu Dhabi, and Sharjah. The tournament schedule is yet to be announced by the ICC.

"We are delighted to announce the groups for the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2021. There are some great matchups offered by the groups and it starts to bring the event to life for our fans as our first multi-team event since the onset of the global pandemic draws closer," said ICC's acting CEO Geoff Allardice.

"Given the disruption caused by COVID-19, we selected the cutoff date as close as possible to the event to ensure we were able to include the maximum amount of cricket in the rankings which determine the groups."

“With the announcement of groupings, our countdown for the ICC T20 World Cup kickstarts. There is nothing that separates the two groups as both are packed with sides that are highly competitive in the shortest format of the game.

"Having said that, the exciting T20 format is known for its surprises, and we must be prepared for the same. I am sure we will witness some exciting and nail-biting games," said BCCI secretary Jay Shah.

“It is good to get Oman in the frame of world cricket with the hosting of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup. It will help a lot of young players take an interest in the game. We know it will be a world class event in this part of the world," said BCCI President Sourav Ganguly.