After the One Day International (ODI) World Cup staged in India in 2023, another World Cup is knocking at the door. The ninth edition of the Men’s International Cricket Council's (ICC) T-20 World Cup, 2024, will commence on June 5–30 in the US and West Indies.
Bangladesh is in Group D. Their opponents are South Africa, Sri Lanka, the Netherlands, and Nepal in the round-robin league. It is said that the Tigers are in a death group, according to The Telegraph. Though the ICC has yet to announce the group and match fixtures,
The Tigers have to face the two full members of the ICC, Sri Lanka and South Africa, with associate members from the Netherlands and Nepal. The four teams in Group D are qualified for the tournament based on their ranking and performance, as are those who took part in the 2022 World Cup. The Dutch were in eighth place in the last tournament. They outplayed South Africa and Zimbabwe in the Super 12 round.
Meanwhile, the Himalayan country of Nepal will book their spot at the tournament. They beat Oman in the ICC’s Asia region qualifying match. Nepal beat the UAE by eight wickets in the semifinal of the Asian qualifying match on November 3, 2023. The Himalayan nations will take part in the T-20 for the first time.
Group—A: India, Pakistan, Ireland, Canada, USA
Group—B: England, Australia, Namibia, Scotland, and Oman.
Group—C: New Zealand, West Indies, Afghanistan, Uganda, Papua New Guinea.
Group D: South Africa, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Netherlands and Nepal.
South Africa is the favorite team in Group D. They are very strong. The Proteas have the best chance to become group champions. After that, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka are the top favorites in the group.
The island nation of Sri Lanka clinched the title in 2014, ten years ago. So, there is a big challenge ahead for Bangladesh in the group stage.
If the Tigers win over the Islanders, there is a big chance to reach the Super Eight. The match against the Netherlands was also very important for the Tigers.
Bangladesh should remember that all the matches are very important. They have to play to win all the matches and should top the group. If Bangladesh becomes the group champion, they will play in the West Indies, while the men in the red and green runner-up will play in the US in the super eight.
The top two teams will move into the Super Eight from four groups. The eight teams will be divided into two groups. Each group has four teams. As for this, the Tigers must win over South Africa or the islanders. It is predictable that Bangladesh can win over the Netherlands and Nepal. Bangladesh have a chance to reach the top eight in the shorter version of the World Cup.
Meanwhile, the former champions, India and Pakistan, are in Group A. They will face Ireland, the US, and Canada. It is assume that India and Pakistan move to super eight comfortably.
The tournament will be contested by 20 teams, an expansion from 16 teams at the 2022 tournament. In addition to the two hosts, the top eight teams from the previous tournament automatically qualified, as did the next two teams in the ICC men’s T-20I rankings. The remaining eight teams were decided via a regional qualification process. This is the first time that Canada, the United States, and Uganda have qualified for the T20 World Cup.