India aim to end 17-year title drought as they prepare for T20 WC 2024 opener against Ireland

New York [US], June 4 (ANI): The Indian men's cricket team will be looking to end a 17-year-long trophy drought at the ICC T20 World Cup 2024, scheduled in the West Indies and the United States in June.
India were the inaugural T20 World Cup winners in 2007 in South Africa under the captaincy of MS Dhoni. Since then, the Men in Blue have drawn a blank.
The Indian men's cricket team last made the final of a T20 World Cup in 2014 but lost the decider to Sri Lanka. At the last edition in 2022, India bowed out after losing to eventual champions England in the semi-finals.
India, currently the top cricket team in the T20I world rankings, will be led by Rohit Sharma during the upcoming T20 Cricket World Cup in the Americas. Hardik Pandya will be the vice-captain.
Virat Kohli and Suryakumar Yadav are also in the squad. The Indian men's cricket team has been drawn in Group A alongside hosts USA, Canada, Ireland and arch-rivals Pakistan.
India's T20 WC 2024 campaign starts against Ireland on June 5 at the Nassau County International Cricket Stadium in New York. The same venue will host the marquee India vs Pakistan fixture on June 9 and the subsequent clash against the USA. The final group match against Canada will be played in Florida.
A total of 20 teams are competing in the T20 World Cup 2024 - four more than the last edition in 2022 hosted by Australia. The teams have been divided into four groups of five each. The top two teams from each group will qualify for the Super 8, which starts on June 20.
For the Super 8, the eight teams will be divided into two groups of four and the top two from each group will advance to the semi-finals, scheduled on June 26 and 27.
The final of the ICC T20 World Cup 2024 will be played at the Kensington Oval in Bridgetown, Barbados on June 29.
India beat Bangladesh by 60 runs in the only warm-up match they played before the T20 World Cup 2024. (ANI)