The countdown to the much-awaited 2024 T20 Cricket World Cup begins, with just a month left for the opening match of the tournament between first time participants Canada and U.S. in Dallas on June 1. The series will also mark U.S.’s debut as a co-host in an International Cricket Council tournament.
Preparations for the tournament are in full swing in the U.S., and the 34,000-seat modular stadium in Long Island, New York that will host some of the most anticipated matches is nearing completion. Ten pitches, prepared in Florida, arrived at the Nassau County Cricket Stadium this week, the ICC said Wednesday.
Meanwhile, the squads and players have also started gearing up for the tournament. Several countries including India, Australia, South Africa and defending champions England have announced their squads for the upcoming matches.
See full list:India announces 15-member squad for 2024 T20 World Cup led by Rohit Sharma
General tickets for the 2024 T20 World Cup are available to purchase on first-come-first-serve basis on the tournament website. While tickets for popular matches sold out almost immediately when the sales went live on Feb. 22, tickets for multiple matches in the U.S., such as United States vs. Ireland and Canada vs. Pakistan, are still available, as of April 30.
Tickets for some of the matches are also available for purchase on third-party websites such as Stubhub, Tickets Center and SeatGeek for varying prices.
$40,000 cricket tickets:T20 World Cup, Pakistan-India demand, drives skyrocketing prices
The ICC is also offering a limited number of hospitality and premium packages for the T20 World Cup. To get them, visit tickets.t20worldcup.com or email hospitality@t20worldcup.com.
Cricket enthusiasts who will be travelling to the venues from different countries also have the option to secure ticket-inclusive travel packages through ICC Travel & Tours and officially appointed travel agents listed on their website.
Tickets are available in the following categories, depending on the stadiums and venues:
ICC said all stadiums in the event are “divided into different enclosures which have different views of the field of play and may have differing degrees of shade.”
Fans and audiences will be able to watch the world cup matches exclusively on WillowTV, according to a spokesperson of the T20 World Cup.
Fifty-five matches will be played across nine cities – three in the U.S. and six in the Caribbean, according to the ICC, with the opening match between Canada and the U.S. to be held on June 1 at Grand Prairie Stadium in the Dallas metro area, and the grand finale on June 29 in Barbados. The semi-finals will take place in Trinidad and Tobago and Guyana.
New York City will host the much-anticipated clash between Pakistan and India on June 9, according to the schedule released by the ICC.
England enters the year as defending champions, having beaten Pakistan in the 2022 T20 World Cup final in Melbourne. The series will mark U.S., Canada and Uganda’s first appearances at a Men’s T20 World Cup.
As anticipation for the tournament builds, the ICC announced eight-time Olympic gold medalist Usain Bolt and India’s legendary cricketer Yuvraj Singh as ambassadors for the T20 World Cup 2024.
Tournament director Fawwaz Baksh had told USA TODAY in February that he is confident that his team “will put up a very good show.”
“A big part of this tournament is not only what’s going to happen on the field with the players, but also everything outside of the stadium,” Baksh had said. “We will make it a real carnival-like.”
Match schedule, groups, host cities:US to co-host ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024
Matches will be played at the following stadiums in the United States:
‘We can’t wait’:Timelapse video shows New York cricket stadium inching closer to completion
Matches will be played at the following stadiums in West Indies:
What to expect from the T20 World Cup?Tournament director says cricket matches will be ‘very, very exciting’
Saman Shafiq is a trending news reporter for USA TODAY. Reach her at sshafiq@gannett.com and follow her on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter @saman_shafiq7.
