T20 World Cup Format Explained: Qualifying format, rules, points distribution, & more

The 7th edition of the ICC T20 World Cup is all set to begin in the UAE this month, where 16 teams will compete for the coveted title. The preliminary round of the competition will start on October 17 in Oman, where eight teams will lock horns against each other for the remaining four spots in the Super 12 round, which already consists of the top eight teams in the ICC T20I rankings. Bangladesh and Sri Lanka are the only ICC full members who will be competing in the first round in Oman due to their poor rankings. 

First Round

Group A: Sri Lanka, Ireland, Netherlands, Namibia

Group B: Bangladesh, Scotland, Oman, Papua New Guinea

Teams that will finish in the top two of Group A and Group B will advance to the Super 12 round to compete in the final round of World T20. The first-ranked team (A1) in Group A and the second-ranked team (B2) in Group B, after the completion of the preliminary round, will join Group 1 in the final round. Meanwhile, the first-ranked team (B1) in Group B and the second-ranked team (A2) in Group A will advance to Group 2 to play in the Super 12 round. 

Final Round: Super 12

Group 1: Australia, England, West Indies, South Africa, A1, B2

Group 2: India, Pakistan, New Zealand, Afghanistan, B1, A2

Qualification & points distribution

The top two teams in both the groups, after the completion of group stage games, will advance to the knockout portion of the competition to play in the semi-finals and final. Each team will play five matches in the group stage before moving to play in the semi-finals. As far as the points system is concerned, each team will receive 10 points for a win, five for a tie/no result/abandoned match, and zero for a loss. 

The ICC has announced that if a match is tied in the super over, teams will continue to play successive super overs to decide a winner. Both semi-final games and the final match will have reserve days to avoid any sharing of the title. Both these rules have been introduced for the first time in an ICC tournament. 

Australia and South Africa will start the Super 12 round on October 23 followed by another match on the same day between defending champion West Indies and 2016 runners-up England. India is scheduled to play its first match against arch-rival Pakistan on October 24. The ICC on Sunday announced the prize money for winners. As mentioned in an official release by ICC on Sunday, the winners of the T20 World Cup 2021 are to be awarded prize money worth $1.6 million or INR 12.02 crores, whereas the runners-up in the tournament will receive an amount of $800,000 or around INR 6.01 crore. 

Image: t20worldcup.com