The International Cricket Council (ICC) on Tuesday announced the complete schedule for the 2020 T20 World Cup to be held in Australia.
And it came with a surprise. For the first time, there will be no group match between arch-rivals India and Pakistan in an ICC sanctioned event.
An Indo-Pak match is always the biggest draw in any tournament and the sport's world governing body, in the past, had consciously exploited this lucrative fixture and there were no complaints either from the fans.
The two teams have faced each other in five ICC tournaments since 2011. And this year, they will meet again in the World Cup in England and Wales.
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But for a change, cricket's biggest rivalry will not be on show in the group stages of 2020 T20 World Cup in Australia, thanks to two team's respective rankings.
At the time of making the draw, Pakistan and India occupy the number one and two spots respectively, necessitating the two teams to be placed in different groups for the tournament.
Another big-ticket match, between the traditional rivals – Australia and England – aren't guaranteed to meet each other either. While England are placed in Group B alongside India, Australia are in Group A alongside Pakistan.
But there are chances of an Indo-Pak semi-final or even a final. By the way, two top teams from each group advance to the semi-finals.
