Usain Bolt to be the brand ambassador of the 2024 ICC T20 World Cup

Legendary Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt has been named by the International Cricket Council (ICC) as the ambassador for the 9th ICC Men’s T-20 World Cup, which will be hosted by the West Indies and the United States of America jointly from 1 to 29 June 2024.

As a brand ambassador, Usain Bolt will promote the World Cup event, attend T20 World Cup matches in the West Indies, and participate in fan engagement events to promote the cricket sport within the United States.

World Record Holder Legendary Sprinter Usain Bolt 

• Usain Bolt, a keen cricket fan, is a legend in track and field athletics. In 2017, he set the world record in the 100-metre race. He also holds the record for winning three gold medals in three consecutive summer Olympics. 
• In the 2008 Beijing Olympics, Bolt won gold in the men’s 100-metre, 200 metres and 4x100 metres. He created a new world record in all three events. 
• At the 2012 London Olympics, he again won gold medals in the 100 metres, 200 metres and 4x100 metres.
• Finally, in the 2016 Rio Olympics, he won gold in 100 metres, 200 metres and 4x100 metres. 
• Bolt currently holds world records in the 100 metres, 200 metres and 4x100 metres with times of 9.58 seconds, 19.19 seconds and 36.84 seconds, respectively. 

9th ICC Men’s T- 20 World Cup 2004 Teams and Fixtures 

The 9th ICC Men’s T-20 World Cup will be the biggest men’s T-20 World Cup in terms of participation. For the first time, 20 teams will participate in the T-20 World Cup. The West Indies and the United States of America will co-host the World Cup from 1 to 29 June 2024.

Teams 

• Of the 20 teams participating in the World Cup, the West Indies and the United States qualified as the host countries. 
• Australia, England, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, the Netherlands, New Zealand, and South Africa qualified based on their top-eight finishes in the previous T-20 World Cup.
• Afghanistan and Bangladesh qualified as the next top teams in the ICC T-20 rankings at the end of last year’s T-20 World Cup.
• Eight teams qualified by winning their regional qualifying matches. Ireland and Scotland qualified from the European quota, Nepal and Oman qualified from Asia, Canada qualified from North America, and Papua New Guinea qualified from the East Asia-Pacific region.

Canada, Uganda and the United States team are playing for the first time in the ICC Men’s T-20 World Cup.

Five Groups 

The 20 teams have been divided into four groups, each consisting of five teams. The top two teams from each group qualify for the next stage and will be part of the Super Eight.

In the Super Eight stage, the eight teams will be divided into two groups. The top two teams will qualify for the semi-finals. The winner of the semi-finals will play in the finals to decide the winner of the 9th ICC Men’s T-20 World Cup.

ICC Men’s T-20 World Cup 

The T-20 format, in which both sides can play a maximum of 20 overs each, was introduced in England. It was a domestic competition that quickly became very popular. 

The first International T-20 match was played between Australia and New Zealand in 2005, and Australia emerged victorious. Seeing the popularity of the T-20 format, the ICC decided to hold the T-20 Cricket World Cup for men. 

The first T-20 men’s World Cup was organised in South Africa, which was won by India. 

The West Indies and England have twice won the ICC Men’s T-20 trophy, while India, Australia, Sri Lanka, and Pakistan have only won it once.

International Cricket Council (ICC)

The International Cricket Council is the world governing body of men’s and women’s cricket.

Initially, it was founded as the Imperial Cricket Conference in 1909, but its name was changed to the International Cricket Conference in 1965. Again, in 1987, it was renamed the International Cricket Council.

Members: 108 members.

There are two categories of members in ICC.

Full members: Twelve full-member countries are qualified to play test matches. They are India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Australia, New Zealand, West Indies, South Africa, Zimbabwe, Ireland, and Afghanistan.

Ireland and Afghanistan were granted full membership in 2017.

Associate members: There are 94 Associate members. They are not authorised to play test cricket, but they participate in other ICC tournaments or at the regional level recognised by ICC.

Headquarters: Dubai, United Arab Emirates 

Chairman of ICC: Greg Barclay of New Zealand 

Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of ICC: Geoff Allardice of Australia