Pakistan, the runners-up in the previous edition of the tournament, have finally named their squad for the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024.

Babar Azam will lead a strong side after he was reinstated as their white-ball captain earlier this year.

In a boost for Pakistan, pacer Haris Rauf was included in the squad after he recovered from an injury, having last featured for the side in January.

“This is an extremely talented and balanced side that has a mixture of youth and experience,” the PCB said in its statement. “These players have been playing together for some time and look well-prepared and settled for next month’s event.

“This is an extremely talented and balanced side that has a mixture of youth and experience. These players have been playing together for some time and look well prepared and settled for next month’s event.

“Haris Rauf is fully fit and bowling well in the nets. It would have been nice if he had gotten an outing at Headingley, but we remain confident that he will continue to maintain an upward trajectory in the upcoming matches, as he will have an important role to play along with other strike bowlers in the T20 World Cup.”

Abrar Ahmed, Azam Khan, Mohammad Abbas Afridi, Saim Ayub and Usman Khan will make their maiden appearance in a T20 World Cup, but Hasan Ali was the prominent absentee.

Pakistan are currently playing a bilateral series against England in preparation for the mega event, with most of the players from the squad for the bilateral series set to travel to the Caribbean and USA for the T20 World Cup.

Pakistan squad: Babar Azam (captain), Abrar Ahmed, Azam Khan, Fakhar Zaman, Haris Rauf, Iftikhar Ahmed, Imad Wasim, Mohammad Abbas Afridi, Mohammad Amir, Mohammad Rizwan, Naseem Shah, Saim Ayub, Shadab Khan, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Usman Khan

Broadcasting news!

Ariana Television Network (ATN) announced this week that it has secured the rights to broadcast this year’s T20 World Cup in Afghanistan.

News, updates and information on the event will be published regularly on Ariana News website and digital platforms so be sure to stay tuned.

Dwayne Bravo, two-time Men’s T20 World Cup winner, has joined the Afghanistan team as the bowling consultant ahead of the mega event in West Indies and USA next month.

Bravo has been named as the bowling consultant by the Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) ahead of the Men’s T20 World Cup.

He will link up with the side in their preparation camp.

The Afghanistan team has already reached St. Kitts and Nevis in the Caribbean in preparation for the event.

Dwayne Bravo reflects on a golden international career
Bravo began his international career in 2004, going on to represent the Men in Maroon till 2021.

The former right-arm fast bowling all-rounder featured in 40 Tests, 164 ODIs and 91 T20Is. He scored 6423 international runs and picked up 363 wickets.

The 40-year-old had a prolific career as a T20 player with the West Indies and in franchise cricket.

His 625 scalps are the most in T20 format, with 78 of these wickets coming in T20Is.

A part of West Indies’ T20 World Cup winning squads in 2012 and 2016, Bravo was most recently seen in the role of bowling coach for the Chennai Super Kings franchise in IPL.

Afghanistan are in Group C of the competition along with hosts West Indies, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, and Uganda. Their opening match is against Uganda in Guyana.

Broadcasting news!

Ariana Television Network (ATN) announced this week that it has secured the rights to broadcast this year’s T20 World Cup in Afghanistan.

News, updates and information on the event will be published regularly on Ariana News website and digital platforms so be sure to stay tuned.

Ariana Television Network (ATN) is thrilled to announce it has secured the exclusive rights to broadcast the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024 live in Afghanistan.

This news will definitely bring joy to Afghans, who have shown their gratitude over the past few months for ATN’s commitment to bringing international sporting events into the homes of fans across the country.

Once again, ATN has worked closely with the ICC to make this possible. Company officials said Thursday they are committed to ensuring people across the country are not deprived of accessing global sporting events.

This World Cup meanwhile is the 9th edition and will be co-hosted by the United States and the Caribbean.

The event will run from June 1 to June 29 and will feature a record number of teams – with 20 different sides represented.

Format

The 20 teams will be separated into four groups of five for the first stage of the event, with each team playing a minimum of four matches against their other group members during that initial group stage.

The top two sides from each group then progress to the Super 8s stage of the event, with the bottom three teams from each group eliminated.

The remaining eight teams are then split into another two groups during the Super 8s phase, with sides to play three matches against their group rivals to determine the semi-finalists.

The semi-finals will be played out between the top two teams from each Super 8s group, with the winners then progressing to the one-off final in Barbados on June 29.

Venues

A total of three venues in the USA and six in the Caribbean will be used during the duration of the tournament, with 16 contests to be held in Lauderhill, Dallas and New York and the blockbuster clash between India and Pakistan scheduled for the new Nassau County International Cricket Stadium in Long Island on 9 June.

Forty-one matches will be played in the Caribbean across six different nations, with semi-finals in Trinidad and Tobago and Guyana, before the title decider scheduled to be played in Barbados on 29 June.

Any match that finishes in a tie will see a Super Over be played and if the Super Over is a tie, with subsequent Super Overs played until there is a winner.

There is also additional time available to ensure the completion of all knockout fixtures at the semi-final and final stage of the event.

ATN will broadcast these matches live and exclusively on Ariana Television. News and tournament information will be published regularly, so don’t forget to watch this space for updates.