T20 World Cup 2024, to be jointly hosted by the West Indies and the USA, could be played between June 4-30 next year. That is the window that has been identified by the International Cricket Council (ICC). It has also started touring venues in the US.
New York, Dallas, Lauderhill and Morrisville are some of the venues the inspection team has visited.
Lauderhill has the experience of hosting international matches. The city is also staging the fourth and fifth T20Is between India and the West Indies on August 12 and 13 this year.
Major League Cricket matches are currently being played in Dallas (Grand Prairie Stadium) and Morrisville (Church Street Park).
Both venues, however, are yet to receive international venue status from the ICC. Likewise with Van Cortlandt Park in New York.
Cortlandt Park has a capacity of nearly 35,000 and could host the high-wattage India-Pakistan fixture, given the high number of Indians and Pakistanis in New York.
“The ICC has support from New York City Hall and the Mayor. So, we expect the work to be completed on time. Everything is on course as most of India's matches will be played in the US," an ICC board member was quoted as saying by PTI.
Twenty teams will compete in the tournament. Recently, Ireland and Scotland qualified for the elite competition, which will certainly boost their morale as cricketing nations. Ireland ensured qualification when their match against Germany was washed off. Scotland defeated Denmark to guarantee their progress to the marquee event.
One of the reasons behind wanting the US to co-host the event is because the ICC believes this will improve cricket’s chances of being included in the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.
A presentation has been made to the Los Angeles organising committee. The International Olympic Committee (IOA) will take a decision on the inclusion later this year.
