Picture used for illustrative purpose only.

Mohammad Faisal, Staff Reporter

Spectacular clashes are on the cards as the International Cricket Council (ICC) announced the draw for the Twenty 20 World Cup in which arch rivals India and Pakistan have been drawn in the same group.

The upcoming mega event is scheduled to take place in the UAE and Oman from Oct.17 to Nov.14.

The South Asian cricket rivals will be joined by newly crowned World Test champions New Zealand and Afghanistan as well as two qualifiers from round one in Group 2 of the Super 12s (second round), whereas in Group 1, defending champions West Indies are grouped with England, Australia and South Africa along with two qualifiers from round one.

There are eight teams in Round one including automatic qualifiers Bangladesh and Sri Lanka who will play against six teams who clinched their spots through qualifying matches held in the UAE in 2019.

The Super 12 groups were made on the basis of teams' rankings as of 20 March 2021.

The main matches will be played at Dubai International Stadium, the Sheikh Zayed Stadium and Sharjah Stadium while the Oman Cricket Academy ground will host initial group games.

The scheduled of the showpiece event will be announced later, avers ICC.

It was supposed to be held in India in 2021 but the country is emerging from a COVID-19 surge in April and May and experts fear a new wave of cases later this year.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) remains the 'host' but the competition will now be held across four venues in the UAE and one in Oman.

The UAE has a proven record of successfully staging the world-class sporting event since the outbreak of coronavirus brought the world to its knees.

A resolute UAE defied the odds and showed the world ahead by hosting the MMA fight, which was otherwise scheduled to be held in the US.

The successful staging of MMA fight at the Yas Island, featuring stars like Dustin Poirier, Conor McGregor and Khabib Nurmagomedov, opened the floodgates as the UAE became the most sought-after destination to stage the sporting events.