Hosts and defending champions Australia will take on India in their only warm-up fixture ahead of the T20 World Cup on October 17 in Brisbane. India will play their second warm-up against New Zealand two days later at the same venue.
In addition to the big teams getting a feel for each other ahead of the main event, there is history in the offing for the likes of Ireland, Scotland, Namibia, UAE and Netherlands who will get to play a match at the Melbourne Cricket Ground for potentially the first time. Zimbabwe are also scheduled to play there for the first time since 2004.
T20 World Cup warm-up fixtures
10 Oct - WI vs UAE, Scotland vs Netherlands (Junction Oval), SL vs Zimbabwe (MCG)
11 Oct - Namibia vs Ireland (MCG)
12 Oct - WI vs Netherlands (MCG)
13 Oct - Zimbabwe vs Namibia, SL vs Ireland (Junction Oval), Scotland vs UAE (MCG)
17 Oct - Aus vs India, Eng vs Pak (the Gabba), NZ vs SA, Afg vs Ban (Allan Border Field)
19 Oct - Afg vs Pak, NZ vs India (The Gabba), Ban vs SA (Allan Border Field)
The ICC announced on Thursday that the teams in the first round - West Indies, Sri Lanka, Ireland, Namibia, Netherlands, Scotland, UAE and Zimbabwe - will play their warm-up fixtures between October 10 and 13 at the MCG and the Junction Oval in Brisbane. The teams starting the Super 12 stage will play warm-ups on October 17 and 19 at the Gabba and Allan Border Field.
Australia, India, England, New Zealand, South Africa, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan earned direct qualification to the Super 12 stage in November 2021, on the basis of their T20I rankings at the time. All of them - barring Australia and England, who will be coming into the T20 World Cup on the back of a six-match white-ball series against each other - will play two warm-up games each.
Afghanistan will face off against Pakistan once again, a rivalry that has fostered some amazing cricket matches - most recently at the Asia Cup - but also some unruly scenes in the stands. New Zealand and South Africa, who produced instant classics at the ODI World Cups in 2015 and 2019, have also been carded together in the warm-up schedule.
The ICC added that these warm-up fixtures "will not carry official T20 International status."
When the World Cup starts, with the first round matches on October 16, the top two teams from each group will qualify for the Super 12s. There, every team will play against each other from the same group. The top two sides from each group will then advance to the semi-finals, to be held on November 9 and 10 at the Sydney Cricket Ground and Adelaide Oval, with the final slated for November 13 at the MCG.