World T20 rechristened as ICC T20 World Cup

Dubai, Nov 23 - The International Cricket Council (ICC) has decided to rechristen the ICC World T20 as ICC T20 World Cup, the global cricket body announced on Friday.

"The renaming decision is aligned to the Global Cricket Strategy which will be launched in early 2019, in which the shortest format will not only be used as the vehicle to globalise the game, but to also enhance its profile and status and ensure its status is at par with the pinnacle events of the other two formats," stated an ICC release.

This means that the next edition of the events which will be held in Australia 2020 will be called ICC Women's T20 World Cup 2020 and the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2020.

ICC CEO David Richardson said the pinnacle event of any format should be called the World Cup and that is what brought about the change.

"I think cricket is very fortunate to have three formats and global events, in particular, the cricket World Cup which has been the 50-over version and of course the 20-over version, they have always been regarded as the pinnacle event of that particular format," Richardson said.

"I think the way T20 format is now evolving and is used to globalise the game, it is extremely popular around the world, the status of the event is elevated over the years. I think it is right the fans understand your pinnacle event should be called the World Cup and that is essentially what we have done."

The decision to rename the event was also backed by international captains, both men and women.

"I'm really excited for the opportunity to be part of the T20 World Cup in Australia. The pinnacle event for T20 cricket is rightly now the World Cup. India won the first edition of the World T20 in 2007 and it would be a great moment to hold the T20 World Cup trophy aloft in Australia," said the Indian men's team captain Virat Kohli.

Terming the change in the name a "natural progression", India women's team skipper Harmanpreet Kaur said: "This is an exciting tournament that teams get to play. It has brought together the best from around the world over the years and so I think the change in name is a natural progression." 

"I'm sure this tournament will only grow in popularity in the coming years with the thrilling brand of the game that has been on display in different editions of the tournament," she added.

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IANS