ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2022: India, Pakistan to face off on October 23

India's opening match of the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2022 will be against Pakistan on October 23.

The match will take place at the historic Melbourne Cricket Ground in Australia.

Excitement is building for the ICC Mens T20 World Cup 2022, following the International Cricket COuncil's announcement of the fixtures for the October 16 November 13 event. The world's best cricketers from 16 international teams will clash in 45 matches as the pinnacle global event in mens T20 cricket comes to Australia for the first time.

Matches will be played across Adelaide, Brisbane, Geelong, Hobart, Melbourne, Perth and Sydney, giving fans around the country the chance to see the biggest global sporting event coming to Australia in 2022.

In the First Round, 2014 champions Sri Lanka and Namibia will play the opening match of the ICC Mens T20 World Cup 2022 at Kardinia Park, Geelong on Sunday October 16. Theyll be joined by two qualifiers in Group A. Two-time champions West Indies will also start in the First Round, joined in Group B by Scotland and two qualifiers in Hobart.

In the Super 12, hosts Australia are in Group 1 with world number one England, New Zealand, Afghanistan, plus the winner of Group A and the runner-up in Group B from the First Round. Group 2 features India, Pakistan, South Africa, Bangladesh, plus the winner of Group B and runner-up in Group A from the First Round.

Hosts and defending champions, Australia will play New Zealand in the opening match of the Super 12 at the SCG on Saturday October 22 in a re-match of the ICC Mens T20 World Cup 2021 Final. The Black Caps will also face England at The Gabba on November 1 in a re-match of their epic semi-final encounter at the 2021 event.

Two of world crickets biggest rivals will go head-to-head at the MCG, with India taking on Pakistan on Sunday October 23. It will be the first World Cup clash between the two nations at the MCG and comes before two more fierce rivals, Australia and England, meet at the venue on Friday October 28.

The state-of-the-art Perth Stadium will host a huge Sunday double-header on Sunday October 30 with South Africa taking on India in the evening match. Earlier in the day, Pakistan will be in action against the runners-up from Group A.

The semi-finals will be played at the SCG and Adelaide Oval on 9 and 10 November, respectively. It will be the first time the Adelaide Oval will host a World Cup semi-final.

The MCG will host the ICC Mens T20 World Cup 2022 Final, which will be contested under lights on November 13 2022.

Full fixtures and ticketing information are available at t20worldcup.com.

Fans must register prior to January 31 to get the best chance of securing their seats, before tickets go on sale to the public on February 7.

Ticket pricing remains the same as the postponed 2020 event with childrens tickets available for every First Round and Super 12 match from $5, and adult tickets available at select matches in each host city from $20.

International Cricket Council CEO Geoff Allardice said: T20 is the global growth format for cricket and the ICC T20 World Cup 2022 will play a huge role in inspiring our next generation of players and fans as the worlds best players descend on Australia and showcase the very best of our sport. The release of fixtures is always a great moment in the delivery of a World Cup as fans start to get excited about opening games, head to heads and knock-out stages.

This schedule offers so much, from the 2014 Champions Sri Lanka opening the event, to our defending champions Australia starting with a rematch of the 2021 Mens T20 World Cup Final against New Zealand and of course India taking on Pakistan at the MCG. We know that hundreds of thousands of passionate cricket fans will turn out to support every single one of the 16 teams across all seven of our host cities which is what makes it so special for the players. You only need to cast your mind back to the brilliant ICC Womens T20 World Cup 2020 in Australia to know that this is going to be a wonderful event for players and fans alike.

ICC T20 World Cup Local Organising Committee CEO, Michelle Enright said; The release of the fixtures gives fans the opportunity to start planning their T20 World Cup experience, which is now just 268 days away.

By having matches spread across the nation in seven host cities and making tickets accessibly priced, we are hoping as many people as possible will be able to experience the incredible atmosphere that international fans bring to global sporting events, as well as the unique, fast-paced and unpredictable nature of T20 cricket.

World Cups are about bringing people from all backgrounds and cultures together and we hope to safely host over 800,000 fans at Australias iconic cricket venues later this year.

Adelaide will see 10 different teams play Super 12 matches in a festival of cricket with India to feature on the first night at Adelaide Oval against Bangladesh on November 2. Australia will be in action on a Friday night against local Adelaide favourite Rashid Khan and Afghanistan on November 4.

Brisbane will host four Super 12 matches with Australia, England and New Zealand to feature on consecutive nights on October 31 and November 1 respectively.

2014 champions Sri Lanka will feature in the opening match of the event against Namibia at Kardinia Park, Geelong on October 16, 2022 in the First Round.

Hobart will see the power-hitters of West Indies play three First Round matches at Bellerive Oval, starting on October 17 2022. Hobart will also host three Super 12 fixtures.

The state-of-the-art Perth Stadium will host five Super 12 matches with defending champions Australia to play a night match against the winners of Group A on October 25. Perth Stadium will also be lit up on the opening night of the Super 12 with world number one England taking on Afghanistan.

On Thursday, November 3, Pakistan takes on South Africa in a showcase of the fastest bowlers in the world in a night match at the SCG, with the likes of Shaheen Afridi, Haris Rauf, Kagiso Rabada and Anrich Nortje on display.

Two global qualifying events will determine the final four places for Australia 2022.

Australia was originally scheduled to host the event in 2020, before it was postponed due to Covid-19 and re-scheduled for October 16 November 13 2022. Matches will be played in Adelaide (Adelaide Oval), Brisbane (The Gabba), Geelong (Kardinia Park), Hobart (Bellerive Oval), Melbourne (MCG), Perth (Perth Stadium) and Sydney (SCG).

Its the first time Australia will host the ICC Mens T20 World Cup after a record-breaking women's event, which was held in February - March 2020. The final at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, was won by Australia over India in front of 86,174 spectators, a record crowd for women's sport in Australia and the second-highest crowd ever recorded for a women's sporting event globally.

Australia will enter the eighth edition of the mens event as defending champions after winning their maiden ICC Mens T20 World Cup title in 2021, defeating New Zealand in in the final played at Dubai International Stadium.

The ICC Mens T20 World Cup 2022 will feature 16 international teams playing 45 matches with the final to played on Sunday, November 13 at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.