MUMBAI: Five years after hosting the marquee event, India is once again gearing up to stage the ICC Men's T20 World Cup. Deferred by a year due to the Covid2019 pandemic, the competition is now slated to be held in October-November 2021. With less than 12 months to go before the opener, the ICC and the BCCI came together in Dubai to launch a countdown and reveal the brand identity of the 16-team tournament.
Inspired by the colours of India and the intense passion that fans have for the game, the brand identity is bright and full of energy and embodies the excitement that comes with the fast and fierce pace of world’s best T20 cricket. Functionally, the design has been carefully constructed to come to life across all channels especially for digital and motion graphics.
ICC chief executive Manu Sawhney is optimistic that it will be possible for fans to attend. “With Diwali just two days away and with the countdown to the tournament in India underway, this is an opportune moment to unveil our brand identity that so wonderfully reflects the vibrant festival of lights.”
He further added, “We are working very closely with the BCCI to deliver a stellar tournament bringing the world’s best players together to go head to head in the first global cricket event since the advent of the pandemic. Our focus will be on staging a safe and secure event that fans from across the world can enjoy.”
With the BCCI having successfully concluded the IPL in Dubai in a bio-bubble, all eyes will now turn to how it manages to stage the World Cup. Even as the country registers 45,000+ cases on the regular, board president Sourav Ganguly and honorary secretary Jay Shah insisted that India would be in fighting fit shape to host, and said that the BCCI would ensure all necessary protocols are in place.
“The BCCI will leave no stone unturned in ensuring that the health and safety of everyone concerned in this showpiece event is taken care of. While we are determined to provide a rich cricket-viewing experience, I would also like to assure the ICC and member boards that India is known for its warm hospitality and we will make you feel at home. In these times of pandemic when there are severe restrictions, the BCCI believes in the policy of innovating and adapting, and I am confident that we will overcome every challenge,” added Shah.
Former India captain Sourav Ganguly, who has participated in numerous ICC events as a player, said he is now looking forward to calling the shots off the field as an administrator. “It is a matter of great honour for us to be hosting the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup. India has successfully staged several global events since the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup in 1987 and I am sure cricketers from around the world would be excited at the prospect of playing in our cricket loving country.”
The seventh edition of the Men’s T20 World Cup will be the first global cricket event since this year’s highly successful ICC Women’s T20 World Cup, which climaxed with a record 86,174 people attending the Australia-India final at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on International Women’s Day.
The teams participating in the tournament scheduled for October-November next year are Afghanistan, Australia, Bangladesh, England, India, Ireland, Namibia, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Oman, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Scotland, South Africa, Sri Lanka and the West Indies.
