T20 World Cup trophy. (Photo Source: Twitter)
With the widespread reports of shifting the T20 World Cup 2024 out of West Indies and the USA all around, the USA Cricket (USAC) issued a statement on Wednesday, June 07. The cricket board stated that the doubts regarding the lack of proper cricketing infrastructure in the nation will be removed after the successful conduct of the Major League Cricket (MLC).
A USAC official said that they haven’t had any conversation with the ICC (International Cricket Council) about shifting the venue. He further said that they’re trying their best to prepare the necessary infrastructure for the T20 World Cup 2024 scheduled to be played in June.
“We haven’t had any discussions with the ICC in this regard. We are putting our best foot forward in preparing the necessary infrastructure for the T20 World Cup, which is a year away. Concerns about makeshift venues etc are natural because the US does not host cricketing events regularly but we have the Major League Cricket coming up and a successful hosting of the T20 tournament will ward off a lot of concerns,” a USA Cricket administrator was quoted as saying by NDTV.
Notably, the inaugural Major League Cricket T20 will be played from July 13 to July 30. The tournament will be contested among six teams with the matches scheduled to be played at the Grand Prairie Stadium in Texas.
Numerous big names from international cricket will feature in the league such as England’s Jason Roy, Australia’s Adam Zampa, Matthew Wade, Marcus Stoinis and Moises Henriques.
No discussion on shifting the T20 World Cup 2024: ICC
Meanwhile, an ICC official also confirmed that there are no discussions of shifting the venue of the T20 World Cup 2024. Moreover, he also revealed that the expected venues for the mega event will be announced soon. Besides, he also clarified that the tournament will go ahead as planned earlier.
“There has been no discussion on any ICC forum on shifting the T20 World Cup 2024 from the West Indies and the USA. It (the tournament) will go ahead and an announcement on the venues will be made shortly,” an ICC Board member was quoted as saying by NDTV.
Notably, India have played some of its international matches at the Central Broward Park in Lauderhill, Florida, against the West Indies.
Oakland, Florida and Los Angeles are some of the cities that have been recommended by the ICC Venue inspection team as prospective venues for the T20 World Cup. According to reports, the biggest game of the event India vs Pakistan will take place in the USA and not the West Indies, keeping in mind the crowd support for both teams.