Targeting cricket loving South Asians in America, New York is set to host a clash between arch rivals India and Pakistan in the first group stage of next year’s T20 World Cup, according to a media report.
India, Pakistan and eight other nations will play all their opening group-stage games in the USA, who are co-hosting the 20-nation tournament with the West Indies, according to Guardian.
India’s game against Pakistan is expected to be played in a new 34,000-seat modular stadium to be constructed in Eisenhower Park, a purpose-built sports and events park in Nassau County, New York.
New York has some 711,000 Indian residents and about 100,000 people of Pakistani origin according to the latest census data cited by the Guardian.
READ: Jatin Patel gets Cricket Hall of Fame Lifetime Achievement Award (October 17, 2023)
America have confirmed that they will use just three venues, Central Broward Park in Florida, Grand Prairie Stadium in Texas and Eisenhower Park on Long Island, about 25 miles from downtown Manhattan. The first two are dedicated cricket grounds,
As there is a 10-and-a-half-hour time difference between New York and New Delhi, organizers have agreed to schedule some games, particularly those involving India, with morning starts to better serve Indian television audiences, the newspaper said.
The full schedule of the tournament is due to be signed off by the International Cricket Council and local organizing committees Friday, it said. Some changes to the schedule are still possible, but England and Australia will play all their group games in the Caribbean, the newspaper said.
READ: New sports league and cricket team launched in Dallas (September 7, 2023)
England’s games both in their initial, five-team group and, should they qualify from that, in the Super 8 round will all be in the British tourist hotspots of Antigua, Barbados and St Lucia, but the Australians will visit some of the region’s other venues, in St Vincent, Guyana and Trinidad.
The venue for the final has not been confirmed but it is likely to be in Barbados, which has previously hosted the finals of the 2007 50-over World Cup and the 2010 T20 event, according to Guardian.
England are defending champions having won the 2022 T20 World Cup in Australia, beating Pakistan in the final.
Announcing the venues for the first T20 World Cup to be hosted by the USA last September, ICC Chief Executive Geoff Allardice stated, “The USA is a strategically important market and these venues give us an excellent opportunity to make a statement in the world’s biggest sport market.”
READ: Major League Cricket brings T20 competition to America (July 14, 2023)
“The ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024 will turbocharge the growth of cricket across the United States,” Vijay Srinivasan, co-Founder, Major League Cricket, then stated.
“MLC and its partners are committed to building world class cricketing facilities across America and we’re excited to accelerate infrastructure developments that can be utilized by the ICC for World Cup training, pre-event matches and tournament games – leaving a broad legacy for the sport in multiple locations nationwide.”