The International Cricket Council (ICC), the world cricket governing body, has appointed Pakistan’s Shahid Afridi as the brand ambassador of the forthcoming 9th ICC Men’s T20 World Cup. The tournament will be co-hosted by the West Indies and the United States of America from 1 to 29 June 2024.
Shahid Afridi joins Indian Yuvraj Singh, Chris Gayle of West Indies, and Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt as brand ambassadors for the event.
The ICC Men’s T20 World Cup start on 1 June, with the USA team taking on Canada at the Grand Prairie Stadium in Dallas, the United States of America. India will take on Pakistan on 9 June in New York.
As brand ambassadors, they will promote the World Cup event, attend T20 World Cup matches, and participate in fan engagement events to promote cricket within the United States.
Shahid Afridi, nicknamed ‘Lala’, was an explosive batsman and a skilful leg spinner. His explosive batting was best suited to the limited-overs one-day International (ODI), especially the T-20 format.
He was the player of the Tournament in the first Men’s T-20 World Cup 2007, held in South Africa. Pakistan lost the final match to India.
In the 2nd T20 World Cup, Shahid Afridi played a crucial role in Pakistan's victory. Shahid Afridi was the man of the match in the semi-final against South Africa and again in the final against Sri Lanka.
Shahid Afridi has participated in six ICC Men’s T20 World Cups. He has captained the side in two editions of the T20 World Cup.
In terms of the number of teams, the 9th ICC Men’s T20 World Cup will be the biggest men’s T-20 World Cup with 20 teams. At the Group stage, the 20 teams have been divided into four groups.
Group |
Countries |
A |
India, Pakistan, Canada, the United States and Ireland |
B |
Australia, England, Scotland, Namibia and Oman |
C |
Papua New Guinea, Afghanistan, New Zealand, Uganda and West Indies |
D |
Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Netherlands and South Africa |
The T-20 format was introduced in England and quickly became very popular in the world.
The first T-20 men’s World Cup was organised in South Africa, and India won it.
Edition |
Year |
Host Country |
Winner |
Runners-Up |
Winning Captain |
Number of Teams |
1 |
2007 |
South Africa |
India |
Pakistan |
M.S.Dhoni |
12 |
2 |
2009 |
England |
Pakistan |
Sri Lanka |
Younis Khan |
12 |
3 |
2010 |
West Indies |
England |
Australia |
Paul Collingwood |
12 |
4 |
2012 |
Sri Lanka |
West Indies |
Sri Lanka |
Daren Sammy |
12 |
5 |
2014 |
Bangladesh |
Sri Lanka |
India |
Lasith Malinga |
16 |
6 |
2016 |
India |
West Indies |
England |
Daren Sammy |
16 |
7 |
2021 |
UAE, Oman |
Australia |
New Zealand |
Aaron Finch |
16 |
8 |
2022 |
Australia |
England |
Pakistan |
Jos Butler |
16 |
9 |
2024 |
West Indies, United States of America |
- |
- |
- |
20 |
The International Cricket Council regulates men’s and women’s cricket in the world.
It has 108 members, and twelve countries—India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Australia, New Zealand, West Indies, South Africa, Zimbabwe, Ireland, and Afghanistan—are eligible to play test matches.
Headquarters: Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Chairman of ICC: Greg Barclay of New Zealand
Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of ICC: Geoff Allardice of Australia.