Twenty20 cricket began to develop in popularity and as a sporting gameplay format during the years of 1998 and 2001. It was only in 2001 that the concept of a 40-over game, with 20 overs per innings, was presented to the English cricket county chairman, and passed to implementation with a voting of 11-7, 11 in favour and 7 against.
Soon, the new form of cricket was given the name of Twenty20. The idea of a shortened form of cricket, which had previously been mooted by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB), captured the imagination of the fans.
Twenty20 Cricket was formally introduced to the world in 2003, when the ECB launched the Twenty20 Cup. Soon after the first Twenty20 cricket tournament was played and became an overnight success, South Africa, Australia and the West Indies also organized similar tournaments, which again attracted major cricket audiences.
In the year 2005, history was created, when Twenty20 cricket made its international debut, with the first T20 International being played, between Australia and New Zealand at Eden Park. With the popularity of this new form of cricket rising, surpassing that of even ODIs and Tests, the World Twenty20 cricket game was created and another avenue for punting at the best cricket online betting NZ sites.
By 2007, the popularity of Twenty20 had gained such heights that ICC organized the first international Twenty20 tournament, known as the inaugural Twenty20 World Cup, creating another history of sorts. With South Africa as the host, the tournament included 10 Test playing nations, and two ICC associate nations, Kenya and Scotland. India won the first ICC T20 World Cup, beating Pakistan in the finals.
The Next ICC World Twenty20 to be Held in India
Crickets’ ICC World Twenty20 Cup is scheduled to be held in March and April of 2016. This popular tournament will be hosted by India, and the renowned, and iconic Eden Gardens stadium in Kolkata will be the venue for the final. The Indian cricket board (BCCI) has named eight additional venues for the biennial event.
In the five times this tournament has been held before, a maximum of three cities were used, but in this ICC World Twenty20 tournament Bengaluru, Chennai, Dharamshala, Mohali, Mumbai, Nagpur and New Delhi will also provide playing venues. Sri Lanka are the defending champions. India is highly familiar with this format of the game, hosting the extremely popular Indian Professional League in this format.
For the second time, the tournament will feature 16 teams. All ten full members will qualify automatically, and will be joined by the six Associate Members that qualified through the 2015 ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier, that was played in Ireland and Scotland during July 2015.
The Associate Members who qualified are Scotland, Ireland, the Netherlands, Afghanistan, Hong Kong and Oman. Prior to the qualifying tournament, Oman only had Twenty20 status, but with their progression to their first World Twenty20 tournament, they gained full Twenty20 International status.
Online and Worldwide Involvement
The 2016 ICC World Twenty20 will be the sixth ICC World Twenty20 tournament. With India being hosts, and the country as a whole dedicated to the game of cricket, India will no doubt also be considered favourites.
Australia and South Africa are, however, both familiar with the Indian conditions and pitches, so they could prove highly competitive too.
Sri Lanka, as defending champions, should never be ruled out either, and with Pakistan highly unpredictable, this tournament should provide some extremely high quality cricket to the millions of avid international viewers. Overall, the World Twenty20 Cup tournament ensures an unforgettable sports event, accompanied by the full online involvement, which includes sports betting.
