Date and venue for kick-off of ICC World T20 2020 Asia qualifiers announced

Kuwait and Nigeria will play hosts to the Asia qualifiers of the men’s ICC World T20 2020. The matches will kick-off on April 20 in Kuwait, marking the beginning of a long journey to the final qualifiers. In all, 62 teams will be competing in this initial stage in 12 qualifying events, hoping to qualify for the actual tournament which is to take place in 2020.

The first match marks the commencement of Group A qualifier in Kuwait. Bahrain, Maldives, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates will be participating as the other hosts and will also be competing for three spots to reach the Asia regional final in 2019. Currently, the Africa qualifiers for the high-octane tournament are taking place in Nigeria, The Gambia, Ghana and Sierra Leone, out of which two teams will proceed to the next stage.

Eight teams to proceed to ICC World T20 2020 qualifiers

According to a report by Cricket Country, 62 teams will compete in 12 regional qualification groups during the course of 2018. The participants will be Africa (three groups), Americas (two groups), Asia (two groups), East Asia Pacific (two groups) and Europe (three groups). From heron, there’ll be 25 participants who’ll proceed to five regional finals in 2019, followed by the top eight competing in the 2020 ICC World T20 Qualifiers. This structure will reduce the number of qualifying steps and also provide fair conditions for more ICC members to compete.

Reacting to these developments, Haider Farman, President of Kuwait Cricket said, “We are delighted to be hosting the first qualifying group in Asia for the ICC World T20 2020. The new qualification process is providing more opportunities for Associate teams and having this tournament at home means, we can showcase cricket to the people of Kuwait, neighbouring countries in GCC and all of Asia. T20 is an exciting format of the game and we hope to encourage more people to become fans during the event.”

ICC General Manager – Development, William Glenwright expressed his elation at the framework of the qualifiers giving an equal platform to associate members of the ICC and said, “The ICC’s significant investment in Associate Member cricket includes a commitment to providing more access to competitive opportunities in T20 cricket, with 62 Associate Members competing in 12 different competitions in 2018 in their bid to reach the ICC World T20 in Australia.

“We are delighted that the qualifying groups will be hosted by ten different Associate Members as part of our focus on the T20 format as the international growth vehicle for cricket. This simplified structure provides more regular playing opportunities for our Associate Members and ensures that our best performing members are adequately prepared for both the Global Qualifier and, ultimately, the ICC World T20 in 2020,” concluded Glenwright.

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