DUBAI: It may only be 14 years old, but the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup is already one of the world’s great sporting events and is set to light up our screens for the seventh time in the United Arab Emirates and Oman.
Whether it’s Yuvraj Singh’s golden over, Umar Gul taking five for six or Carlos Brathwaite making sure we will always remember his name, the biggest T20 moments invariably happen at the World Cup.
Five different teams have lifted the sleek and slender trophy and, after this tournament, an impressive 21 nations will have appeared at some stage, making it a proven petri dish for the growth of the global game.
We have seen teams score 260 and 39, combine for 459 runs in a single night, the Netherlands beat England and Zimbabwe beat Australia. It’s as unpredictable as it is compelling.
Eight men who played in the inaugural tournament in 2007 are in the squads for 2021 and they have seen the game change beyond compare.
The World Cup is at the heart of T20’s tug of war between bat and ball and fans are the biggest winner in that battle, with another chapter waiting to be written in the Middle East.
