India-Pakistan match needs ‘cool’ weather, jokes Anurag Thakur

0
123

Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) secretary Anurag Thakur said that Dharamsala will be an ideal venue for the most awaited match of the World T20, which will take place in March in India next year.

“Looking at the heat generated during the discussion regarding the series between India and Pakistan, the matches between the two need a cooler weather and Dharamsala gives the right atmosphere,” joked Thakur at a ceremony for the announcement of the International Cricket Council (ICC) World T20 2016 schedule.

The full schedule of the tournament was unveiled during the ceremony which pitted Pakistan, India, Australia and New Zealand in Group 2. Meanwhile, Group 1 constitutes of Sri Lanka, South Africa, West Indies and England.

The arch-rivals will face each other on March 19, and the BCCI secretary believes cold weather will help ease the tension in the match expected to be the most watched encounter in the ICC tournament.

“Thodi si thandi jagah honi chahiye jaha pe itna garam match ho [There should be some cold place where such a ‘hot’ match will take place],” said Thakur.

A total of 58 tournament matches, including 35 men’s matches and 23 women’s matches, will be played in the 27-day tournament in Bengaluru, Chennai, Dharamsala, Kolkata, Mohali, Mumbai, Nagpur and New Delhi.

New Delhi and Mumbai will host the semi-finals on March 30 and 31, respectively, while Eden Gardens in Kolkata will be the venue of the April 3 finals. The women’s semi-finals and final will be followed by the men’s knock-out matches. There is a reserve day for the Finals.

The men’s event will carry a total prize money of $5.6million, which is an 86% increase from the 2014 tournament, while the total prize money for the women’s event is $400,000, which is a 122% increase from the Bangladesh event.

Pakistan, led by Shahid Afridi, will play its first match on March 16 against the team that qualifies from Group A. Next they will take on India on March 19. A clash against New Zealand and Australia is scheduled for March 22 and 25, respectively.