The 2024 ICC Twenty20 Cricket World Cup will be the next edition of this storied tournament to be held after its 2022 edition later this year.
The hosts for the 2024 edition have been known for sometime: the West Indies and the USA.
But, it was yet to be determined if the West Indies and the USA would both Qualify Automatically as co-hosts.
On Sunday 10 April, it was confirmed that both co-hosts will Automatically Qualify for the 2024 World Cup!
The Twenty20 Cricket World Cup has been held once every two years, normally, since 2007. There have been a few exceptions to that rule, such as from 2009 to 2010 and 2016 to 2020 (held and changed to 2021 due to COVID-19). So far, the West Indies have won the World Cup twice, in 2012 and 2016, while other nations to have won this prestigious event have been India (2007), Pakistan (2009), England (2010), Sri Lanka (2014), and Australia (2021).
The West Indies are thus the best historical Twenty20 Cricket National Team side at the World Cup. The West Indies also has two other semi-finalist finishes, with one Round 1 finish and two Round 2 finishes. The West Indies have already Qualified for the 2022 Twenty20 World Cup via finishing in the Top 11 from the previous edition in 2021.
The USA has never Qualified for the Twenty20 Cricket World Cup prior to Sunday’s announcement, but are in the running to Qualify for 2022 edition. The USA has not Qualified yet, but are in the last round of Qualifiers to.
For the West Indies, this World Cup Qualification does not mean as much as for the USA. The West Indies were most likely going to Qualify regardless, and are always a favorite due to their historical juggernaut history and their present-day talent! The USA, on the other hand, has never Qualified for any Men’s Senior level Crickey World Cup, either for ODI or Twenty20, and definitely not Test. Thus, this is a huge accomplishment for the USA. The USA also is starting up Major League Cricket (MLC) and has already created Minor League Cricket (MiLC).
Furthermore, the USA is in the midst of building some important cricket infrastructure in the USA via new stadiums, especially in Texas!
The USA are progressing in cricket and a World Cup Qualification and Hosting of a Twenty20 World Cup will definitely spur cricket growth in the USA.
For the West Indies, they can expect a resurgence of cricket into the minds of the youth with hosting this World Cup. And given the Caribbean Premier League is one of the best leagues, a good result should be expected potentially increasing cricket’s popularity there exponentially.
Lastly, this cooperation is good for all parties involved. The USA needs more elite players and training and the West Indies needs more money and popularity. By both working together, this helps both achieve their goals.
Therefore, congrats to both nations on their historic achievement of not just hosting the 2024 Twenty20 World Cup, but of also Qualifying for the 2024 Twenty20 Cricket World Cup.
Source: ESPN CricketInfo
KTH 