The ICC Men’s T20 World Cup will return with its seventh edition this October when Australia takes on South Africa at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi on October 23, 2021, in the first group stage match. With the pandemic postponing the tournament by a year, the latest edition will be hosted by BCCI with the matches being played at the three venues of the United Arab Emirates – Dubai International Stadium, the Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi, and the Sharjah Stadium- from October 23 to November 14.
However, the qualifying stages of the T20 World Cup 2021 will start from October 17 and run till October 22, where the matches will be played at the Al Amerat Cricket Ground in Oman as well, apart from the other three UAE venues. Participants can build their fantasy cricket team on MPL during the almost one-month long tournament and win rewards daily.
Also Read: T20 World Cup Winners List
With the World Cup of the shortest format returning to the fore after a gap of five long years, MPL introduces the T20 World Cup fantasy league, where you can build your fantasy team and win rewards every single day during the gala event. Now, you can pick and drop real T20 superstars to create the optimum combination for your fantasy team and compete in various fantasy leagues to win rewards.
MPL’s new points system is designed to match the thrill of T20 cricket, which will be in full throttle during the almost one-month long World Cup starting from October. With more bonus points available now for economy rate, strike rate, catches, and other such feats, scoring cannot get any easier for the fantasy owners. What’s more? You can also make multiple fantasy teams and compete in various tournaments to multiply your chances of winning rewards.
With five different cricketing nations winning this ICC tournament in the last six editions, cricket hasn’t been any more unpredictable for the fans. And it is this uncertainty that has made T20 cricket so popular across the globe despite only being 14 years old. This World Cup is bound to see new cricketing stars emerge who will go on to rule the roost in the coming decade.
With so many permutations and combinations possible in this tournament, you must be at the top of your game while creating fantasy teams worthy of becoming world-beaters in the fantasy league. You can participate in the T20 World Cup Fantasy League by going to the fantasy tab on the MPL app, which is situated at the bottom of the landing page. Once you select “fantasy cricket” there, all the upcoming World Cup matches will be available for you that you can compete in straight away.
Your fantasy cricket team must have players from all four positions – batsmen, bowlers, wicket-keeper and all-rounders. You will be allotted a total of 100 credits for buying players, although you can only bring in a maximum of 7 players from one team. One fantasy cricket team must have 1-4 wicket-keepers, 1-4 all-rounders, 3-6 batsmen and 3-6 bowlers.
Download the MPL Fantasy Cricket App and start building your fantasy team for the T20 World Cup.
T20 World Cup 2021 will have two phases – Round 1 and the Super 12s. Round 1, or the qualifying stage, will have eight teams divided into two groups – Group A and Group B.
Group A: Sri Lanka, Ireland, the Netherlands, and Namibia
Group B: Bangladesh, Scotland, Papua New Guinea, and Oman
The top two teams from Group A and Group B will progress into the second phase of the World Cup, known as the Super 12s. The Super 12 stage will have another two groups – Group 1 and Group 2 – where the big teams will start their World Cup campaign.
Defending champions of the 50-over World Cup, the England cricket team had lifted the T20 World Cup in 2010 by beating Australia comprehensively by 7 wickets. The English team had reached the final of the 2016 ICC T20 World Cup as well before they lost to West Indies by 4 wickets. Eoin Morgan and Co. will be hoping to make consecutive final appearances this time while targeting to go all the way.
Squad: Eoin Morgan (c), Moeen Ali, Jonny Bairstow, Sam Billings, Jos Buttler, Sam Curran, Chris Jordan, Liam Livingstone, Dawid Malan, Tymal Mills, Adil Rashid, Jason Roy, David Willey, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood.
Travelling Reserves: Tom Curran, Liam Dawson, James Vince
One of the most successful cricket teams in the 50-over format, who has won three consecutive World Cups, Australia has been disappointing in the T20 format so far. The closest that Australia has come to lift the T20 World Cup was in 2010 when they had reached the final.
Squad: Aaron Finch (C), Ashton Agar, Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood, Josh Inglis, Mitchell Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Kane Richardson, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Marcus Stoinis, Mitchell Swepson, Matthew Wade, David Warner, Adam Zampa.
Travelling Reserves: Dan Christian, Nathan Ellis, Daniel Sams
For the longest time, South Africa had boasted of having the best T20 talents in their squad. However, that hasn’t led the Proteas to a single T20 World Cup title in six World Cups. The side hasn’t even reached the final of the tournament on any occasion. However, they come to T20 World Cup 2021 with a good blend of youth and experience.
Squad: Temba Bavuma (c), Keshav Maharaj, Quinton de Kock (wk), Bjorn Fortuin, Reeza Hendricks, Heinrich Klaasen, Aiden Markram, David Miller, W Mulder, Lungi Ngidi, Anrich Nortje, Dwaine Pretorius, Kagiso Rabada, Tabraiz Shamsi, Rassie van der Dussen.
Travelling Reserves: George Linde, Andile Phehlukwayo, Lizaad Williams
The most successful team in the T20 World Cup history, West Indies have won the trophy twice in a span of four years. This will be the third time that the Men in Maroon will return to defend their title, and their star-studded squad is more than capable of doing that in T20 World Cup 2021.
Squad: Kieron Pollard (c), Nicholas Pooran, Fabian Allen, Dwayne Bravo, Roston Chase, Andre Fletcher, Chris Gayle, Shimron Hetmyer, Evin Lewis, Obed McCoy, Lendl Simmons, Ravi Rampaul, Andre Russell, Oshane Thomas, Hayden Walsh Jr.
Travelling Reserves: Darren Bravo, Sheldon Cottrell, Jason Holder, Akeal Hosein
Apart from England, Australia, South Africa and West Indies, who have already qualified for the Super 12 phase, Group 1 will see two more teams – Group A winner and Group B runner-up – qualifying in this group before the T20 World Cup 2021 Super 12s begin on October 23.
The winner of the very first T20 World Cup, which was held in 2007 in South Africa, India has failed to replicate their success thereafter. The Men in Blue had reached the final of the 2014 T20 World Cup as well, but neighbours Sri Lanka eventually ran away with the mantle after a 6 wickets win. However, Virat Kohli and Co. arrive in UAE with arguably the best squad in T20 World Cup 2021 and will look to clinch the title for the second time.
Squad: Virat Kohli (c), Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant (wk), Ishan Kishan (wk), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Rahul Chahar, Ravichandran Ashwin, Axar Patel, Varun Chakravarthy, Jasprit Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohd Shami.
Travelling reserves: Shreyas Iyer, Shardul Thakur, Deepak Chahar.
The very first runner-up in the ICC T20 World Cup history and the winner of the title in the very next edition, Pakistan is one of the only five teams to ever lift this ICC trophy. The Men in Green, however, has mellowed down since their title-winning campaign in 2009 with no real contention in their last four campaigns. India’s archrival, Pakistan, came to the T20 World Cup 2021 with a young squad filled with promising talents.
Squad: Babar Azam (c), Mohd Rizwan, Asif Ali, Khushdil Shah, Mohd Hafeez, Sohaib Maqsood, Azam Khan, Imad Wasim, Mohd Nawaz, Mohd Wasim, Shahdab Khan, Hasan Ali, Haris Rauf, Mohd Hasnain, Shaheen Afridi.
Traveling reserves: Fakhar Zaman, Usman Qadir, Shahnawaz Dhani
The defending champions of the World Test Championship and the runner-up of the 2019 ODI World Cup, New Zealand, have failed to get their grip in the ICC tournament despite having some of the best talents of the shortest format. However, with things seemingly falling in place for the Black Caps in the recent past, Kane Williamson and Co. will look to make the most of their momentum.
Squad: Kane Williamson (c), Todd Astle, Trent Boult, Mark Chapman, Devon Conway, Lockie Ferguson, Martin Guptill, Kyle Jamieson, Daryl Mitchell, Jimmy Neesham, Glenn Phillips, Mitchell Santner, Tim Seifert.
Travelling reserves: Ish Sodhi, Tim Southee, Adam Milne.
Afghanistan has already turned heads by making a direct entry into T20 World Cup 2021 through direct qualification ahead of seasoned campaigners like Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. Competitors will have a fair idea of the plethora of talents in the Afghanistan team who can turn the tables at any time.
Squad: Mohammad Nabi (c), Rashid Khan, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Karim Janat, Hazratullah Zazai, Gulbadin Naib, Usman Ghani, Naveen ul Haq, Asghar Afghan, Hamid Hassan, Sharafuddin Ashraf, Najibullah Zadran, Dawlat Zadran, Hashmatullah Shahidi, Shapoor Zadran, Mohammad Shahzad, Qais Ahmad.
Travelling Reserves: Afsar Zazai, Fareed Ahmad
Apart from India, Pakistan, New Zealand and Afghanistan, Group 2 will see the Group A runner-up and Group B winner joining them after the qualifying stages.
T20 World Cup 2021 starts with the qualifying stages – Round 1 – on October 17, Sunday, when Oman takes on Papua New Guinea in the Group B match. The qualifying stages or Round 1 will continue till October 22, following which the Super 12 stage, or the finals, begins.
Date | Match | Time (IST) | Venue |
October 17, Sunday | Oman vs Papua New Guinea | 3:30 PM IST | Al Amerat Cricket Ground, Oman |
October 17, Sunday | Bangladesh vs Scotland | 7:30 PM IST | Al Amerat Cricket Ground, Oman |
October 18, Monday | Ireland vs Netherlands | 3:30 PM IST | Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium, Abu Dhabi |
October 18, Monday | Sri Lanka vs Namibia | 7:30 PM IST | Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium, Abu Dhabi |
October 19, Tuesday | Scotland vs Papua New Guinea | 3:30 PM IST | Al Amerat Cricket Ground, Oman |
October 19, Tuesday | Oman vs Bangladesh | 7:30 PM IST | Al Amerat Cricket Ground, Oman |
October 20, Wednesday | Namibia vs Netherlands | 3:30 PM IST | Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium, Abu Dhabi |
October 20, Wednesday | Sri Lanka vs Ireland | 7:30 PM IST | Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium, Abu Dhabi |
October 21, Thursday | Bangladesh vs Papua New Guinea | 3:30 PM IST | Al Amerat Cricket Ground, Oman |
October 21, Thursday | Oman vs Scotland | 7:30 PM IST | Al Amerat Cricket Ground, Oman |
October 22, Friday | Namibia vs Ireland | 3:30 PM IST | Sharjah Cricket Stadium |
October 22, Friday | Sri Lanka vs Netherlands | 7:30 PM IST | Sharjah Cricket Stadium |
October 23, Saturday | Australia vs South Africa | 3:30 PM IST | Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium, Abu Dhabi |
October 23, Saturday | England vs West Indies | 7:30 PM IST | Dubai International Stadium |
October 24, Sunday | Group A Winner vs Group B Runner-up | 3:30 PM IST | Sharjah Cricket Stadium |
October 25, Monday | India vs Pakistan | 7:30 PM IST | Dubai International Stadium |
October 25, Monday | Afghanistan vs Group B winner | 7:30 PM IST | Sharjah Cricket Stadium |
October 26, Tuesday | South Africa vs West Indies | 3:30 PM IST | Dubai International Stadium |
October 26, Tuesday | Pakistan vs New Zealand | 7:30 PM IST | Sharjah Cricket Stadium |
October 27, Wednesday | England vs Group B Winner | 3:30 PM IST | Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium, Abu Dhabi |
October 27, Wednesday | Group B Winner vs Group A Runner-up | 7:30 PM IST | Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium, Abu Dhabi |
October 28, Thursday | Australia vs Group A Winner | 7:30 PM IST | Dubai International Stadium |
October 29, Friday | West Indies vs Group B Runner-up | 3:30 PM IST | Sharjah Cricket Stadium |
October 29, Friday | Afghanistan vs Pakistan | 7:30 PM IST | Dubai International Stadium |
October 30, Saturday | South Africa vs Group A Winner | 3:30 PM IST | Sharjah Cricket Stadium |
October 30, Sunday | England vs Australia | 7:30 PM IST | Dubai International Stadium |
October 31, Monday | Afghanistan vs Group A Runner-up | 3:30 PM IST | Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium, Abu Dhabi |
October 31, Monday | India vs New Zealand | 7:30 PM IST | Dubai International Stadium |
November 1, Tuesday | England vs Group A winner | 7:30 PM IST | Sharjah Cricket Stadium |
November 2, Wednesday | South Africa vs Group B Runner-up | 3:30 PM IST | Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium, Abu Dhabi |
November 2, Wednesday | Pakistan vs Group A Runner-up | 7:30 PM IST | Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium, Abu Dhabi |
November 3, Thursday | New Zealand vs Group B Winner | 3:30 PM IST | Dubai International Stadium |
November 3, Thursday | India vs Afghanistan | 7:30 PM IST | Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium, Abu Dhabi |
November 4, Friday | Australia vs Group B Runner-up | 3:30 PM IST | Dubai International Stadium |
November 4, Friday | West Indies vs Group B Winner | 7:30 PM IST | Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium, Abu Dhabi |
November 5, Friday | New Zealand vs Group A Runner-up | 3:30 PM IST | Sharjah Cricket Stadium |
November 5, Friday | India vs Group B winner | 7:30 PM IST | Dubai International Stadium |
November 6, Saturday | Australia vs West Indies | 3:30 PM IST | Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium, Abu Dhabi |
November 6, Saturday | England vs South Africa | 7:30 PM IST | Sharjah Cricket Stadium |
November 7, Sunday | New Zealand vs Afghanistan | 3:30 PM IST | Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium, Abu Dhabi |
November 7, Sunday | Pakistan vs Group B Winner | 7:30 PM IST | Sharjah Cricket Stadium |
November 8, Monday | India vs Group A Runner-up | 7:30 PM IST | Dubai International Stadium |
November 10, Tuesday | Group 1 Winner vs Group 2 Runner-up | 7:30 PM IST | Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium, Abu Dhabi |
November 11, Wednesday | Group 1 Runner-up vs Group 2 Winner | 7:30 PM IST | Dubai International Stadium |
November 14, Thursday | Semi-final 1 Winner vs Semi-final 2 Winner | 7:30 PM IST | Dubai International Stadium |
Creating the perfect cricket fantasy team requires a lot of planning and research as you have to stay up to date with all the developments concerning team news and player injuries. Not only that, but players should also be picked according to the opponents and playing conditions. Here are a few tips and tricks to play the T20 World Cup fantasy league on MPL.
You can also get more such tips and tricks on creating your Indian fantasy cricket teams on the MPL blog.
Here are the reasons why MPL remains the one-stop destination for fantasy sports fans across the world.
What is T20 World Cup Fantasy League?
The T20 World Cup Fantasy League is the cricket fantasy game that MPL is bringing to you on the eve of the ICC T20 World Cup 2021. With the ICC tournament returning for the first time since 2016, you can now create your fantasy team on the MPL mobile app to take part in contests and win prizes daily during the month-long competition.
In this, you can pick 11 players from real life in your fantasy teams and you will be awarded points based on their performances during the tournament. You can create multiple teams to compete in multiple online contests on MPL and increase your chances of winning.
When will T20 World Cup Fantasy League Matches Start in 2021?
The Indian T20 World Cup fantasy league will start on October 14, 2021. T20 World cup 2021 will be played in UAE across three venues in Sharjah, Dubai and Abu Dhabi and in Oman. A total of 45 matches will be played in the competition having two phases – Round 1 and Super 12 – before the semi-final and final match.
Is Playing T20 World Cup Fantasy League on MPL safe?
It is absolutely safe to play the T20 World Cup fantasy league on MPL as all the transactions are done through a secure gateway. If you win, your winnings are transferred to your account immediately. You can play fantasy sports on MPL without any worry.
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