Sri Lanka will open their campaign in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2021 against Namibia at the Abu Dhabi Stadium on 18 October, it was confirmed Tuesday as the ICC unveiled the schedule of the 16-team event. 

Sri Lanka is grouped with Ireland, Namibia and Netherlands in Round 1 and will take on Ireland and Netherlands on 20 and 22 October.

Round 1 of the tournament will begin with Oman playing Papua New Guinea followed by Bangladesh playing Scotland on 17 October. Two teams from each group of Round 1 make it to the Super 12s, with Bangladesh, Oman, Papua New Guinea, and Scotland forming Group B.

The Super 12s will begin their contest on 23 October with Australia playing South Africa and England playing West Indies followed by arch rivals India and Pakistan who will play against each other on 24 October. Complete fixtures of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup hosted by India in UAE and Oman listed below.

Abu Dhabi will be the venue of the first semi-final on 10 November while the other semi-final (11 November) and the final (14 November) will be played in Dubai. All day matches are scheduled for 14:00 local time and the day-night matches are slated for 18:00 local time (+4 GMT).

Speaking on the tournament and fixtures, Sri Lankan Captain Dasun Shanaka said: “A T20 World Cup is always exciting for the players, fans, and all stakeholders who adore and love the game, and I am sure everybody is waiting for this tournament to take place, as do we as a team. A tournament of this nature helps popularise the game globally, as the short time span and the look and feel of the contest attracts the attention of the fans.”

Speaking on the players to watch out for Shanaka added: “Sri Lanka has players who can easily fit into a T20I team and deliver results. Our bowling is becoming potent, our batting has players who can build an innings and accelerate at key moments, whilst we are focusing big on our fielding as well. We do have several players in our present squad who can make an impact at any given time of the game, be it batting, bowling, or fielding. If I may name a few, Wanindu Hasaranga, who is among the top-ranked T20I bowlers, Kusal Janith Perera, who is an experienced wicket-keeper batsman, and Dushmantha Chameera, who looks extremely good with his bowling.”

Complete schedule:

Round 1

17 Oct: Oman v Papua New Guinea, Muscat (14:00); Bangladesh v Scotland, Muscat (18:00)

18 Oct: Ireland v Netherlands, Abu Dhabi (14:00); Sri Lanka v Namibia, Abu Dhabi (18:00)

19 Oct: Scotland v PNG, Muscat (14:00); Oman v Bangladesh, Muscat (18:00)

20 Oct: Namibia v Netherlands, Abu Dhabi (14:00); Sri Lanka v Ireland, Abu Dhabi (18:00)

21 Oct: Bangladesh v Papua New Guinea, Muscat (14:00); Oman v Scotland, Muscat (18:00)

22 Oct: Namibia v Ireland, Sharjah (14:00); Sri Lanka v Netherlands, Sharjah (18:00)

Super 12s

23 Oct: Australia v South Africa, Abu Dhabi (14:00); England v West Indies, Dubai (18:00)

24 Oct: A1 v B2, Sharjah (14:00); India v Pakistan, Dubai (18:00)

25 Oct: Afghanistan v B1, Sharjah (18:00)

26 Oct: South Africa v West Indies, Dubai (14:00); Pakistan v New Zealand, Sharjah (18:00)

27 Oct: England v B2, Abu Dhabi (14:00); B1 v A2, Abu Dhabi (18:00)

28 Oct: Australia v A1, Dubai (18:00)

29 Oct: West Indies v B2, Sharjah (14:00); Pakistan v Afghanistan, Dubai (18:00)

30 Oct: South Africa v A1, Sharjah (14:00); Australia v England, Dubai (18:00)

31 Oct: Afghanistan v A2, Abu Dhabi (14:00); India v New Zealand, Dubai (18:00)

1 Nov: England v A1, Sharjah (18:00)

2 Nov: South Africa v B2, Abu Dhabi (14:00); Pakistan v A2, Abu Dhabi (18:00)

3 Nov: New Zealand v B1, Dubai (14:00); India v Afghanistan, Abu Dhabi (18:00)

4 Nov: Australia v B2, Dubai (14:00); West indies v A1, Abu Dhabi (18:00)

5 Nov: New Zealand v A2, Sharjah (14:00); India v B1, Dubai (18:00)

6 Nov: Australia v West Indies, Abu Dhabi (14:00); England v South Africa, Sharjah (18:00)

7 Nov: New Zealand v Afghanistan, Abu Dhabi (14:00): Pakistan v B1, Sharjah (18:00)

8 Nov: India v A2, Dubai (18:00)

Knock-out stage

10 Nov: Semi-final 1 (A1 v B2), Abu Dhabi (18:00)

11 Nov: Semi-final 2 (B1 v A2), Dubai (18:00)

14 Nov: Final, Dubai (18:00)

India-Pakistan set for 24 October clash in T20 World Cup