DHAKA,  – Bangladesh will open their campaign in the ICC T20 World Cup 2021 against Scotland at the Oman Cricket Academy ground in Muscat on October 17, as the schedule of the 16-team tournament was announced by the International Cricket Council today.

Bangladesh and 2014 champions Sri Lanka will feature in Round 1 along with Ireland, Namibia, Netherlands Oman, PNG and Scotland in the seventh edition of the tournament, being hosted by India in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Oman through to November 15. Their other matches are against Oman (19 October) and Papua New Guinea (21 October).

Abu Dhabi will be the venue of the first semi-final on November 10 while the other semi-final (11 November) and the final (14 November) will be played in Dubai. All day matches are scheduled for 2PM local time (4 PM Bangladesh Standard Time) and the day-night matches are slated for 6 PM local time (8 PM Bangladesh Standard Time).

If Bangladesh top in their group, which is highly likely, they will be drawn in Group 2 in Super 12s with India, Pakistan, New Zealand and Afghanistan.

Bangladesh captain Mahmudullah Riyad backed the depth of this team while other captains foresee thrilling games and a high standard of the game.

“It’s a very important tournament for all teams and especially for our team. We are playing a few series before the T20 World Cup and if we can do well, get a bit of confidence, try to win those series before the World Cup starts, it will be a big boost for our team,” Mahmudullah said.

“In a tournament like the T20 World Cup every match is equally important. Whoever you are playing, you have to be on the top from the first ball, you have to be in the right frame of mind and focus on the team processes so you can win every game.

“Our strength has been our all-rounders and our bowling department. Having said that, our batting is also very good and we have a good balance. We have five or six all-rounders, who can bat and bowl. Our fast bowlers are doing an incredible job at the moment. Our spinners are our strength as well. If they can put up their hand in a few matches, hopefully we will have some good results. Shakib has been the number one all-rounder and the most valuable player in our team. Mushfiqur Rahim and Mustafizur Rahman are also very important. Others like Afif (Hossain), Shamim (Hossain) and Sohan (Nurul Hasan) are really keen to do well for themselves and the team as well, and those are the youngsters to look out for,” he added.

West Indies captain Kieron Pollard is promising an exciting cricket, the type that helped them defeat England in a pulsating final at the Eden Gardens in 2016 with Carlos Brathwaite blasting four consecutive sixes in the last over to turn the tables on 2010 champions England.

Round 1

Group A: Sri Lanka, Ireland, the Netherlands and Namibia

Group B: Bangladesh, Scotland, Papua New Guinea and Oman

(Top two teams from each group advance to Super 12s)

Super 12s

Group 1: England, Australia, South Africa, West Indies, A1 and B2.

Group 2: India, Pakistan, New Zealand, Afghanistan, A2 and B1.

(Top two teams from each group advance to the semi-finals)