Story ICC World Twenty20 2018 (What if?)

[Na Maloom Afraad]

India, Pakistan clash returns in Group 2

The draw was rigged!

 

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ICC Releases World Twenty20 Fixtures; Two Big Rivalries to kick off Super 12 opening day​

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Australia take on rivals Kiwi in the first game of opening day followed by the awaited India Pakistan clash.​

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Only a few days after officially revealing the group draws, ICC releases the official schedule for the World T20 that is set to take place across six venues all over South Africa. Notably, two major rivalries namely the Trans-Tasman and the Indo-Pak match-ups will kick off the Super 12 opening day on 19th August as the first and second games respectively. Centurion will host the opener while Johannesburg will be the venue for the heated India-Pakistan clash.​

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The Preliminary Stage however will happen first across 6 days, with 13th August the official tournament opening day with Sri Lanka taking on Hong Kong in the first game of the tournament, followed by Zimbabwe pit against the Netherlands in the preliminary Group A. The games will take place in Paarl and Gqeberha for Group A & B of the first round respectively before moving onto the Super 12 stage.​

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The games will happen at 3:30 PM Local Time on weekdays, while double-headers will have a morning game at 11:30 AM preceding the usual afternoon game. All Preliminary Stage games will happen as double-headers.​

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The final league game between Windies & Pakistan in Centurion will conclude the Super 12 stage on the 10th of September, before the Knockout Stage kicks off after a 2-day break with the Final happening on the 16th.​

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The full list of fixtures is available here-​

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Spoiler: Fixtures

Preliminary Stage​

Match #1, Group A - Sri Lanka vs Hong Kong - 13th August 11:30 Local (Boland Park, Paarl)​

Match #2, Group A - Zimbabwe vs Netherlands - 13th August 15:30 Local (Boland Park, Paarl)​

Match #3, Group B - Bangladesh vs United Arab Emirates - 14th August 11:30 Local (St. George's Park, Gqeberha)​

Match #4, Group B - Scotland vs Ireland - 14th August 15:30 Local (St. George's Park, Gqeberha)​

Match #5, Group A - Netherlands vs Sri Lanka - 15th August 11:30 Local (Boland Park, Paarl)​

Match #6, Group A - Hong Kong vs Zimbabwe - 15th August 15:30 Local (Boland Park, Paarl)​

Match #7, Group B - Ireland vs Bangladesh - 16th August 11:30 Local (St. George's Park, Gqeberha)​

Match #8, Group B - United Arab Emirates vs Scotland - 16th August 15:30 Local (St. George's Park, Gqeberha)​

Match #9, Group A - Sri Lanka vs Zimbabwe - 17th August 11:30 Local (Boland Park, Paarl)​

Match #10, Group A - Netherlands vs Hong Kong - 17th August 15:30 Local (Boland Park, Paarl)​

Match #11, Group B - Bangladesh vs Scotland - 18th August 11:30 Local (St. George's Park, Gqeberha)​

Match #12, Group B - Ireland vs United Arab Emirates - 18th August 15:30 Local (St. George's Park, Gqeberha)​

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Super 12s​

Match #13, Group 1 - Australia vs New Zealand - 19th August 11:30 Local (SuperSport Park, Centurion)​

Match #14, Group 2 - India vs Pakistan - 19th August 15:30 Local (Wanderers, Johannesburg)​

Match #15, Group 1 - South Africa vs B2 - 20th August 15:30 Local (Newlands, Cape Town)​

Match #16, Group 2 - England vs A2 - 21st August 15:30 Local (Kingsmead, Durban)​

Match #17, Group 1 - Afghanistan vs A1 - 22nd August 15:30 Local (Wanderers, Johannesburg)​

Match #18, Group 2 - West Indies vs B1 - 23rd August 15:30 Local (SuperSport Park, Centurion)​

Match #19, Group 1 - Australia vs B2 - 24th August 15:30 Local (Kingsmead, Durban)​

Match #20, Group 2 - Pakistan vs A2 - 25th August 11:30 Local (Newlands, Cape Town)​

Match #21, Group 1 - New Zealand vs Afghanistan - 25th August 15:30 Local (Boland Park, Paarl)​

Match #22, Group 1 - South Africa vs A1 - 26th August 11:30 Local (SuperSport Park, Centurion)​

Match #23, Group 2 - India vs West Indies - 26th August 15:30 Local (Wanderers, Johannesburg)​

Match #24, Group 2 - England vs B1 - 27th August 15:30 Local (Kingsmead, Durban)​

Match #25, Group 1 - Australia vs A1 - 28th August 15:30 Local (St. George's Park, Gqeberha)​

Match #26, Group 2 - Pakistan vs B1 - 29th August 15:30 Local (Wanderers, Johannesburg)​

Match #27, Group 1 - New Zealand vs B2 - 30th August 15:30 Local (Newlands, Cape Town)​

Match #28, Group 2 - India vs A2 - 31st August 15:30 Local (SuperSport Park, Centurion)​

Match #29, Group 1 - South Africa vs Afghanistan - 1st September 11:30 Local (Kingsmead, Durban)​

Match #30, Group 2 - England vs West Indies - 1st September 15:30 Local (Wanderers, Johannesburg)​

Match #31, Group 1 - New Zealand vs A1 - 2nd September 11:30 Local (SuperSport Park, Centurion)​

Match #32, Group 2 - India vs B1 - 2nd September 15:30 Local (Newlands, Cape Town)​

Match #33, Group 1 - Australia vs South Africa - 3rd September 15:30 Local (Kingsmead, Durban)​

Match #34, Group 2 - England vs Pakistan - 4th September 15:30 Local (St. George's Park, Gqeberha)​

Match #35, Group 1 - Afghanistan vs B2 - 5th September 15:30 Local (Boland Park, Paarl)​

Match #36, Group 2 - West Indies vs A2 - 6th September 15:30 Local (Wanderers, Johannesburg)​

Match #37, Group 1 - New Zealand vs South Africa - 7th September 15:30 Local (Newlands, Cape Town)​

Match #38, Group 2 - B1 vs A2 - 8th September 11:30 Local (SuperSport Park, Centurion)​

Match #39, Group 1 - Australia vs Afghanistan - 8th September 15:30 Local (Kingsmead, Durban)​

Match #40, Group 1 - A1 vs B2 - 9th September 11:30 Local (Newlands, Cape Town)​

Match #41, Group 2 - India vs England - 9th September 15:30 Local (Wanderers, Johannesburg)​

Match #42, Group 2 - West Indies vs Pakistan - 10th September 15:30 Local (SuperSport Park, Centurion)​

Knockouts​

1st Semi Final - TBD vs TBD - 13th September 15:30 Local (Kingsmead, Durban)​

2nd Semi Final - TBD vs TBD - 14th September 15:30 Local (Newlands, Cape Town)​

Final - TBD vs TBD - 16th September 15:30 Local (Wanderers, Johannesburg)​

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[Viper.]

ICC Announce 5th August Official Squad Announcement Deadline​

All teams are expected to announce their squads by 1st August, with 5 days being given to make any last-minute changes​

Having released the official fixtures list for the World T20 a little more than a month ago, and the tournament a month and a half away, ICC announces the official deadline for teams to name their 15-man squads, with 1st August being the deadline to submit a team and 5th August being the last day to make any changes.

Teams are expected to announce squads of 15 men each with optional travelling reserves, a maximum of 3 for exceptional cases. Teams can officially submit their provisional teams anytime before the 1st of August but have an additional five-day period to finalise it and make any required changes, with the team being completely finalised on the 5th.

With no official warm-ups and a lot of cricket being played in the lead up to the tournament, and the short finalising deadline, teams are expected to directly announce their officially finalised squad, but shock injuries and withdrawals remain the reason for the extended window. Teams are expected to travel to the country a week prior to the first round games and likely earlier for the first round teams, so any changes coming after the 5th of August are strictly allowed on the basis of injuries and will be treated as mid-tournament injury replacements.

Teams are expected to release their squads soon as the deadline is but a month away, as they finalise their combinations based on the active T20I calendar of the current year.​

 

[Viper.]

Afghanistan Name World T20 Squad; 17 year old Mujeeb included​

Fresh from the U19 World Cup Squad and a record IPL contract, Mujeeb ur Rahman is set to play his first senior men's tournament​

Growing Force in the T20I Circuit, Afghanistan are the first team to name their squad for the ICC World T20, and U19 World Cup sensation Mujeeb ur Rahman- all of 17 years of age has been selected among experienced campaigners in the 15-man team to travel to South Africa in August.

Asghar Afghan will continue to lead the men in blue who have majorly retained their squad from the previous tournament in 2016, with T20 sensation Rashid Khan again a prominent pick, alongside veteran Mohammad Nabi and Samiullah Shinwari who will also be part of the spin unit that is being completed by the 17 year old Mujeeb ur Rahman.

Aftab Alam, Karim Janat & Hazratullah Zazai are among the other new names included not part of the previous edition, while Noor Ali, Dawlat Zadran, Karim Sadiq & Amir Hamza from the 2016 squad will not be travelling this time around.

Veteran Pacer Dawlat Zadran misses the cut for the pace battery that consists of Hamid Hassan, Shapoor Zadran, Aftab Alam and Karim Janat. The selectors have expressed that recent performances and consistent appearances over recent tours were given weightage for the squad selection.

Batting sensation Hazratullah Zazai also makes the cut, a new find for the team for their T20 opening pair. Veteran Mohammad Shahzad will feature, as the main keeper, with Shafiqullah retained as backup glovesman. Regulars Najibullah Zadran, Usman Ghani & Gulbadin Naib add more firepower to the batting.

Moreover Fareed Ahmad Malik has also been included as a travelling reserve backup for any of the seam bowlers.

Word from the ACB Selection Board - "It was tough to narrow it down to 15 men with the growth of U19 talent and the veteran skill in the country but we are confident that this 15 man team is the strongest unit for us to go one step further in South Africa this year. Mujeeb and Zazai are exciting prospects who will be important for us to elevate our performance this time while Rashid is as vital as ever. It is harsh for the likes of Dawlat and Noor to miss out but we are looking at the squad that won the series against Bangladesh this year and the players who have featured in our uphill run over these few years and have curated the selections based on the deserved performers of recent times"​

Spoiler: World T20 Squad

Afghanistan Squad: Asghar Afghan (c), Aftab Alam, Usman Ghani, Hamid Hassan, Karim Janat, Rashid Khan, Mohammad Nabi, Gulbadin Naib, Shafiqullah, Mohammad Shahzad, Samiullah Shinwari, Mujeeb ur Rahman, Najibullah Zadran, Shapoor Zadran, Hazratullah Zazai, Fareed Malik (Reserve)

Afghanistan will play their first Super 12 match against the winner of Group A on the 22nd of August.​

 

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