• Opening Group B fixture between Oman and Papua New Guinea to kick off ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2021
• Short video interviews of team captains, graphics of schedules for each team available on theOnline Media Zonefor free editorial use

The ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2021 will kick off with a Round 1 Group B match between Oman and Papua New Guinea at the Oman Cricket Academy Ground on 17 October with Bangladesh and Scotland playing later in the day at the same venue.

The schedule for the tournament, announced by the International Cricket Council today, pits Scotland against Papua New Guinea and Oman against Bangladesh in other Group B matches on 19 October whilst Bangladesh will face Papua New Guinea and Oman will take on Scotland on 21 October. All Group B matches will be held in Oman.

Former champions Sri Lanka will feature in Group A of Round 1 along with the Netherlands, Ireland and Namibia. Two teams from each group will make it to the Super 12 stage of the 16-team tournament which will be staged in the UAE.

Abu Dhabi will be the venue of the first semi-final on 10 November while the other semi-final (11 November) and the final (14 November) will be played in Dubai. All day matches are scheduled for 14h00 local time and the day-night matches are slated for 18h00 local time (+4 GMT).

Oman captain Zeeshan Maqsood is looking forward to welcoming teams to his home country while West Indies captain Kieron Pollard promised exciting cricket in their defence of the title.

Oman captain Zeeshan Maqsood said: “I extend a warm welcome to all teams who will be playing in our country in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup. This is a wonderful opportunity for us to be turning out in a global ICC event on our home ground - to show the world what we are capable of as players and as a venue.

“Our preparations are on track under the guidance of coach Duleep Mendis and we aim to be at our best, come October 17. In our group we will be playing against Bangladesh, Scotland and Papua New Guinea. All these teams are very skillful, and we are looking forward to competing against them to the best of our ability. I’m sure there will be thrills aplenty in the much-awaited tournament.”

Papua New Guinea captain Assad Vala: “It’s an honour, for me especially, to be leading this group of boys to the T20 World Cup. To be there from the start, from the qualification stage, to finally qualify and be participating in one of the World Cups is a dream come true for the team.

“It is a huge occasion for every individual who is going to the World Cup - to reach the highest peak of cricket, to be able to play against the best. We are really looking forward to competing and giving our best.

“We have been playing against Oman and Scotland over the last couple of years but the team we are really looking forward to playing is Bangladesh, which is a Full Member nation. It will be good for us to test ourselves against a top-quality team and see where we are.

“There is no superstar in our squad. We are a disciplined side who play our roles and executive our skills to the best of our ability. The players to watch out in our team are opening batsman Tony Ura and new-ball bowler and allrounder Norman Vanua. Norman is a power-hitting hitting batsman and Tony can be dangerous at the top.”

Scotland captain Kyle Coetzer: “Looking ahead to the tournament, we’ve got three huge games in round one. All of them are as important as each other. It’s always good to beat teams that are ranked higher than you, but being an Associate Member, we know that all games are valuable and that playing, and beating those teams ranked both above and below us are just as valuable, so three huge games that are all hugely valuable.

“The ICC T20 World Cup provides huge exposure for the game in Scotland. Obviously qualifying for the T20 World Cup was massive in itself, but getting to play on the world stage is a huge opportunity for us all and for the country.

“We have a whole host of exciting players throughout our squad. The key for us is making sure we all contribute in our own ways and skill sets as that will give us the best opportunity to perform at our best during the World Cup.

“We have skills throughout with the bat, ball and in the field but I think our biggest strength is our belief. As a country we really believe now that we’re capable of playing on a world stage and in World Cups.”

West Indies captain Kieran Pollard: “We are excited to begin defence of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup title later this year. T20 cricket is dynamic and the international scene is highly competitive, with players constantly pushing the boundaries of innovation and we are expecting a spectacular event in the United Arab Emirates and Oman.

“We have a particularly interesting Super 12 group, which sees us come up against Australia, England and South Africa. We can’t wait to get started! West Indian cricketers have always played an exciting brand of cricket and I am sure our fans in the Caribbean and all over the world are highly anticipating seeing us in action.”

The media release for the group announcements is available here.

The groupings:

Round 1

Group A: Sri Lanka, Ireland, the Netherlands and Namibia
Group B: Bangladesh, Scotland, Papua New Guinea and Oman

(Top two teams from each group advance to Super 12s)

Super 12s

Group 1: England, Australia, South Africa, West Indies, A1 and B2.
Group 2: India, Pakistan, New Zealand, Afghanistan, A2 and B1.

(Top two teams from each group advance to the semi-finals)

Complete schedule:

Round 1

17 Oct: Oman v Papua New Guinea, Muscat (14h00); Bangladesh v Scotland, Muscat (18h00)
18 Oct: Ireland v Netherlands, Abu Dhabi (14h00); Sri Lanka v Namibia, Abu Dhabi (18h00)
19 Oct: Scotland v PNG, Muscat (14h00); Oman v Bangladesh, Muscat (18h00)
20 Oct: Namibia v Netherlands, Abu Dhabi (14h00); Sri Lanka v Ireland, Abu Dhabi (18h00)
21 Oct: Bangladesh v Papua New Guinea, Muscat (14h00); Oman v Scotland, Muscat (18h00)
22 Oct: Namibia v Ireland, Sharjah (14h00); Sri Lanka v Netherlands, Sharjah (18h00)

Super 12s

23 Oct: Australia v South Africa, Abu Dhabi (14h00); England v West Indies, Dubai (18h00)
24 Oct: A1 v B2, Sharjah (14h00); India v Pakistan, Dubai (18h00)
25 Oct: Afghanistan v B1, Sharjah (18h00)
26 Oct: South Africa v West Indies, Dubai (14h00); Pakistan v New Zealand, Sharjah (18h00)
27 Oct: England v B2, Abu Dhabi (14h00); B1 v A2, Abu Dhabi (18h00)
28 Oct: Australia v A1, Dubai (18h00)
29 Oct: West Indies v B2, Sharjah (14h00); Pakistan v Afghanistan, Dubai (18h00)
30 Oct: South Africa v A1, Sharjah (14h00); Australia v England, Dubai (18h00)
31 Oct: Afghanistan v A2, Abu Dhabi (14h00); India v New Zealand, Dubai (18h00)
1 Nov: England v A1, Sharjah (18h00)
2 Nov: South Africa v B2, Abu Dhabi (14h00); Pakistan v A2, Abu Dhabi (18h00)
3 Nov: New Zealand v B1, Dubai (14h00); India v Afghanistan, Abu Dhabi (18h00)
4 Nov: Australia v B2, Dubai (14h00); West indies v A1, Abu Dhabi (18h00)
5 Nov: New Zealand v A2, Sharjah (14h00); India v B1, Dubai (18h00)
6 Nov: Australia v West Indies, Abu Dhabi (14h00); England v South Africa, Sharjah (18h00)
7 Nov: New Zealand v Afghanistan, Abu Dhabi (14h00): Pakistan v B1, Sharjah (18h00)
8 Nov: India v A2, Dubai (18h00)

Knock-out stage

10 Nov: Semi-final 1 (A1 v B2), Abu Dhabi (18h00)
11 Nov: Semi-final 2 (B1 v A2), Dubai (18h00)
14 Nov: Final, Dubai (18h00)

About the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2021

• The seventh edition of the tournament comprises 16 teams and is being hosted by India in the United Arab Emirates and Oman
• The tournament is being played at four venues – Dubai International Stadium, Oman Cricket Academy (Muscat), Sharjah Cricket Stadium and Zayed Cricket Stadium (Abu Dhabi)
• Hosts India and nine other top teams in the MRF Tyres ICC Men’s T20I Player Rankings as of 31 December 2018 got direct entries
• The top eight were placed directly in the Super 12s and the next two – Sri Lanka and Bangladesh - joined six other teams coming through a Qualifier event in the group stage
• Two teams each from the group stage, consisting of four teams each, will join the eight direct entrants to complete the Super 12s line-up.
• If Sri Lanka and Bangladesh qualify from the first round, they will retain the seedings of A1 and B1 respectively for the Super 12s
• The top two teams from each group of the Super 12s will make the knockouts, the matchups being - A1 v B2 and B2 v A1