ST JOHN’S, Antigua, CMC – World number one West Indies will face host nation India along with Australia in the warm-up round of the ICC World Twenty20 Championship, which bowls off in March.
The ICC recently unveiled the pre-tournament fixtures, showing the Windies matches – both to be played at Eden Gardens in Kolkata.
The match against India will be on March 10 while the contest against the Aussies will be on March 13. No other official fixtures have been listed, leaving these matches key to the team’s preparation for the 8 March to April 3 tournament. West Indies have been drawn in Group 1 of the Super 10 stage of the T20 World Cup and will play alongside England, South Africa, Sri Lanka, and one of the qualifiers from the first round.
Group 2 will comprise India, New Zealand, Pakistan and Australia and a qualifier advancing from the first round.
The Caribbean side boasts a good record at the T20 World Cup, having reached the semi-finals twice – 2009 in England and 2014 in Bangladesh – and winning the title in 2012 under the captaincy of Darren Sammy with a memorable victory over hosts Sri Lanka in Colombo.
West Indies last week returned to the summit of the ICC T20 rankings after reigning World champions Sri Lanka lost to New Zealand in a two-match series.
