International 20-20 (T20 Cricket) World Cup

Popularity of 20-20 format

The famous 20-20 format of Cricket was introduced in 2003, in England in the domestic league. During the first few years of its inception, it was not much welcomed, as it was regarded as nothing, opposite to the old cricket traditions. But, with the passage of time, it slowly and gradually started getting attention of all key test playing nations. Due to its shorter format and excitement filled in it, it enjoys the privilege of providing full-time entertainment to the cricketing fans and is seen as the most attractive version of the cricket in the 150 years old history of cricket. Cricketing nations started playing International T20s in 2005 and since then, it has been the most favorite format of all cricketing nations. It has gained wide popularity world wide and has especially influenced the people of sub-continent.

With so much fame, it became eminent for the ICC to organize a World Cup for this format of the game. So, the first ICC T20 World Cup took place in South Africa in 2007 with 12 teams participating in it. The teams were divided into four equal groups. The format consisted of group matches followed by super-eight stage, semi-final, and final. Pakistan faced India in the final, which was eventually won by the India by 5 runs. The event was a huge success and T20 format made its way into the hearts of cricket fans.

The second ICC World Cup took place on the English soil with same format of the previous World Cup. Women T20 World Cup was also organized on the same dates, which was won by the English women team. In the Men’s World Cup final, Pakistan faced Sri Lanka in the final but this time the Pakistani team managed to lift the World Cup by defeating Sri Lanka with eight wickets.
Third ICC World Cup is scheduled to start from 30th April 2010 in the Caribbean. The event is taking place just after 10 months of the previous World Cup. It is scheduled earlier than the usual time because ICC wanted to revise its planned scheduled as the ICC Champions Trophy was postponed. ICC has revised the format of T20 World Cup. Now, it will consist of group matches followed by knock-out matches, semi-final, and final. The Women World Cup will also take place along the Men’s World Cup.

There were rumors about the postponement of the event due to volcanic eruption in Iceland but such rumors were dismissed by the ICC CEO Haroon Lorgat. Let’s hope that the ICC event start without any interruption and we will be able to see some quality cricket in the much awaited tournament.