The 10th edition of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup begins today in India and Sri Lanka against the backdrop of a chaotic build-up dominated by political turmoil, which eventually saw Bangladesh replaced by Scotland and Pakistan boycotting their high-stakes group-stage fixture against arch-rivals India in solidarity with Bangladesh.
When the first ball is finally bowled after the turbulent lead-in, Pakistan will open the tournament against the Netherlands in Colombo in the morning.
Scotland, called up at the 11th hour to replace Bangladesh, will take guard on the opening day when they face the West Indies in Kolkata in the afternoon.
Meanwhile, defending champions and tournament favourites India will make their tournament bow in the night match on day one against the USA in Mumbai, carrying the hopes of more than a billion home cricket supporters.
On-field action finally returns after events began spiralling over a month ago, when Bangladesh player Mustafizur Rahman was dropped by Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) on instructions from the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on January 3.
That incident triggered a chain of developments, including the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) requesting relocation of their matches outside India due to security concerns and in line with government directives, only for the ICC to eventually reject the plea and replace Bangladesh with Scotland for the tournament.
Pakistan, slamming the ICC for having “double standards”, had also threatened to boycott the entire tournament. While its government eventually cleared the team to participate, it instructed Pakistan not to take the field against India in their group fixture scheduled for February 15 in Colombo. Pakistan players also stated that they would seek government clearance if they come across India in the knockout stage, which remains a possibility.
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