WATCH: Empire State Building in New York City lights up to launch trophy tour ahead of historical 2024 T20 World Cup 

The T20 World Cup trophy tour will visit 15 countries.

WATCH: Empire State Building in New York City lights up to launch trophy tour ahead of historical 2024 T20 World Cup 

Ali Khan and Chris Gayle (Image via ICC)

The United States of America will be hosting its first major ICC event soon with the 2024 T20 World Cup. Co-hosting with the West Indies, it is a monumental step towards increasing the popularity of the sport in the country. 

With months left for the mega-event, the ICC has started a tour of the T20 World Cup trophy, which began in New York City. It was attended by two-time T20 World Cup winner Chris Gayle and USA star Ali Khan. 

YouTube video

They were on top of the Empire State Building, which was also lit up. Gayle was given the honor of pulling the lever that put the light on the iconic skyscraper.

Watch the video here:

The trophy tour will be visiting 15 counties, out which 9 are host. They will visit countries like Brazil, Argentina, Jamaica, Barbados and St. Lucia. 

The trophy tour schedule for the first month:

18 – 20 March: New York
21 – 23 March: Houston, Grand Prairie and Dallas
26 – 27 March: Buenos Aires
28 – 29 March: São Paulo
3 – 4 April: Jamaica
13 – 14 April: Barbados
17 – 18 April: Antigua and Barbuda
19 – 20 April: Saint Lucia

ICC announces qualification rules for 2026 T20 World Cup 

The 2026 T20 World Cup will be held by India and Sri Lanka. The ICC and their members recently met on 15th March and decided the qualification route for the participating teams. The 2026 T20 WC will be held in the same format as the 2024 edition. 

T20 World Cup Trophy
T20 World Cup Trophy (Image via ICC)

The top eight teams from the 2024 T20 WC gain automatic qualification along with hosts India and Sri Lanka. The teams that are the highest ranked after the top 10 will also be given automatic qualification. Meanwhile, the remaining 8 spots will be filled through qualifiers. The Asia, Europe and Africa qualifiers will have two teams each, while Americas and East Asia-Pacific will have one slot each. 

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