Men's T20 World Cup

The ICC Men's T20 World Cup, formerly the ICC World Twenty20, is a biennial world cup for cricket in Twenty20 International (T20I) format, organised by the International Cricket Council (ICC). It was held in every odd year from 2007 to 2009, and since 2010 has been held in every even year with the exception of 2018 and 2020. In 2018, the tournament was rebranded from the World Twenty20 to the Men's T20 World Cup.

The 2011 edition of the tournament was brought forward to 2010 to replace the ICC Champions Trophy. In May 2016, the ICC put forward the idea of having a tournament in 2018, with South Africa being the possible host, but later dropped the idea due to multiple bilateral series taking place that year. The 2020 edition of the tournament was scheduled to take place in Australia but due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the tournament was postponed until 2021, with the intended host changed to India. The 2021 Men's T20 World Cup was later relocated to the United Arab Emirates and Oman due to problems relating to the COVID-19 pandemic in India, taking place five years after the previous (2016) iteration.

As of 2024, nine editions have so far been played, a total of 24 teams have competed and six national teams have won the T20 World Cup so far. Three teams, West Indies (2012, 2016), England (2010, 2022) and India (2007, 2024), have won the competition twice each. Pakistan (2009), Sri Lanka (2014), and Australia (2021) have one title each. A total of 15 countries have hosted the tournament (including 6 island nations of the West Indies). India are the current champions having won their second title in the 2024 edition. The ongoing 2026 edition of the tournament commenced on February 7 and is being co-hosted by India and Sri Lanka.

History

Background

When the Benson & Hedges Cup ended in 2002, the England and Wales Cricket Board sought another one-day competition to appeal to the younger generation in response to dwindling crowds and reduced sponsorship. The Board wanted to deliver fast-paced, exciting cricket accessible to fans who were put off by the longer versions of the game. Stuart Robertson, the marketing manager of the ECB, proposed a 20-over per innings game to county chairmen in 2001, and they voted 11–7 in favour of adopting the new format. The first official Twenty20 matches were played on 13 June 2003 between the English counties in the T20 Blast's inaugural edition. The first season of Twenty20 in England was a relative success, with Surrey defeating Warwickshire by 9 wickets in the final to claim the title. The first Twenty20 match held at Lord's, on 15 July 2004 between Middlesex and Surrey, attracted a crowd of 26,500, the largest attendance for any county cricket game at the ground since 1953. On 17 February 2005, Australia defeated New Zealand in the first men's full international Twenty20 match, played at Eden Park in Auckland.

Initial years (2007–2012)

The first tournament was in 2007 in South Africa where India defeated Pakistan in the final. In December 2007 it was decided to hold a qualifying tournament with a 20-over format to better prepare the teams. The 2009 tournament in England was won by Pakistan who defeated Sri Lanka in the final. The third tournament, was brought forward to 2010 from 2011 to replace the ICC Champions Trophy. This scheduling bottleneck was caused after the 5th edition of the ICC Champions Trophy, scheduled to be hosted by Pakistan in 2008, was delayed and shifted to South Africa in 2009 due to security concerns. The Champions Trophy was converted into a quadrennial tournament after that. The third World Twenty20 was held in the West Indies in May 2010, where England defeated Australia by 7 wickets in the final. The 2012 tournament in Sri Lanka was won by the West Indies, by defeating Sri Lanka in the final.

Expansion to 16 teams (2014–2016)

The 2012 edition was to be expanded into a 16-team format, however this was reverted to 12. The 2014 tournament in Bangladesh, was the first to feature 16 teams including all ten full members and six associate members who qualified through the 2013 Qualifier. Sri Lanka won the 2014 tournament after defeating India in the final. The 2016 tournament in India was won by West Indies, who became the first team to win two T20 World Cups after defeating England in the final.

Disruptions and rebranding (2018–2022)

In May 2016, the ICC proposed a World Twenty20 tournament in 2018, with South Africa being the possible host, but this was later dropped as the top member nations were busy with multiple bilateral tour matches that year. In November 2018, as part of a goal to heighten the profile of the World Twenty20 tournaments, the ICC announced that they would be rebranded as the "T20 World Cup" beginning in 2020. Initially, Australia was set to host both the men's and women's tournaments in 2020, however in July 2020, the ICC announced that the 2020 tournament had been postponed to 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic and with Australian international travel restrictions not expected to be lifted until 2021. Later, the ICC chose to relocate the tournament to India, and award Australia the 2022 edition as compensation. Due to concerns over the COVID-19 pandemic in India, the tournament was played at venues in the United Arab Emirates and Oman instead, although India remained as the formal host. The 2021 tournament was won by Australia, who won their maiden T20 World Cup title after defeating New Zealand in the final. The 2022 tournament was won by England, who won their second T20 World Cup title after defeating Pakistan in the final.

Expansion to 20 teams (2024–present)

In June 2021, the ICC announced that the Men's T20 World Cup would expand to 20 teams beginning in 2024, divided into four groups of five each for the group stage. The 2024 tournament was hosted by the West Indies and the United States. It was the first time the US had hosted a major ICC event. In the final, India defeated South Africa to win their second T20 World Cup title after 17 years. The 2026 tournament is being hosted by India and Sri Lanka.

Hosts

The ICC's executive committee votes for the hosts of the tournament after examining bids from the nations which have expressed an interest in holding the event. After South Africa in 2007, the tournament was hosted by England, the West Indies, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and India in 2010, 2012, 2014 and 2016 respectively. After a gap of four years, Australia was set to host the 2020 edition, but it was postponed to 2021, relocated to India and played in UAE and Oman due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The 2022 tournament was hosted by Australia. In November 2021 as part of the 2024–2031 men's hosts cycle, the ICC confirmed the hosts for the next four Men's T20 World Cup tournaments from 2024 to 2030. The West Indies and United States would co-host the 2024 edition, India and Sri Lanka to co-host the 2026 edition, Australia and New Zealand to host the 2028 edition and the 2030 edition is to be co-hosted by England, Wales, Ireland and Scotland.

Format

Qualification

For the inaugural tournament in 2007, ten then full members qualified directly for the tournament along with the top two teams from the 2007 WCL Division One. A separate qualifier (later named global qualifier) for teams advanced from WCL, was introduced for the 2009 tournament through which top two associates qualified for the World Twenty20 while, all ten full members were given direct qualification. A new expanded pathway was introduced for the 2012 tournament with the introduction of regional qualifiers. All associate nations competed in the regional competitions for a spot in the global qualifier from which top associates qualified for the World Twenty20 while, all ten full members were given direct qualification.

A new qualification pathway was introduced in 2019 following the rebranding as T20 World Cup. A stipulated number of top teams from the T20I Rankings directly qualified for the T20 World Cup, while all other teams competed in two-stage regional qualifiers (sub-regional qualifiers and regional finals) for a spot in the global qualifier from which teams advanced to the T20 World Cup. From the 2022 tournament onwards, direct qualification is given to the top teams from the previous tournament and T20I Rankings. Following the T20 World Cup's expansion to 20 teams from the 2024 tournament onwards, the global qualifiers were discontinued with the top teams from regional qualifiers qualifying for the T20 World Cup.