T20 World Cup 2024: Why Pakistan will not play any Warm-Up Match?

ICC has announced an extensive schedule of warm-up matches ahead of the T20 World Cup 2024.

From May 27 to June 1, a number of warm-up matches will be played by the participating teams in the West Indies and USA.

India will be playing Bangladesh in their solitary match, while the likes of Australia, Sri Lanka, South Africa, West Indies will also participate in the warm-ups. The associate nations will get more chance to rehearse their preparation ahead of the big bash as the likes of Nepal, Uganda, USA, Netherlands are set to play multiple matches.

But as the list was announced on Thursday, no match has been allotted to three teams - New Zealand, Pakistan and England. Pakistan won the T20 World Cup in 2009 and then reached the Final in 2022. England have also lifted the coveted tournament twice and are the defending champions. New Zealand reached the Final back in the 2021 edition in the UAE.

T20 World Cup 2024: Why Pakistan has no Warm-Up Matches?

Pakistan hasn't been allotted any warm-up matches alongside England. As fans may wonder the reason behind it, the scheduling has a simple explanation.

Pakistan is set to take on England in a four-match T20I series in England. The two teams will be playing the bilateral series which will start on May 22 and continue till May 30.

The World Cup in West Indies starts on June 1 as USA takes on Canada, which means neither team would have had an opportunity to participate in a warm-up match. That is the reason behind their omission from the warm-up fixtures. The reason behind New Zealand is an ambiguous one.

Pakistan will kickstart their tournament against USA on June 6, while England commence their journey on June 3 against Scotland.