The International Cricket Council (ICC) T20 World Cup started in 2007 and is now in its ninth edition, but the mega event’s 17-year tradition is still intact.
Considering the popularity of T20 cricket, the International Cricket Council started organizing the World Cup in this format in 2007, and its ninth edition will begin in 2024. However, in its 17-year history, no host nation has been able to win the honor of lifting the trophy on its soil to date.
The ICC T20 World Cup started in South Africa in 2007, but the Proteas could not even reach the final. The mega event’s final was played between traditional rivals Pakistan and India, which India won by four runs and claimed the first trophy.
Two years later, the second T20 World Cup was held in England, the country known as the birthplace of cricket. However, the host country did not qualify to play the final. The final match was once again played between two Asian teams, but this time, Pakistan’s opponent was Sri Lanka instead of India.
The ICC organized the next (third) edition of the World Cup just nine months later, in 2010, which was held on West Indies soil. The final match was between the traditional Ashes rivals England and Australia, and it was the first time that the English team won the game. CC was able to become the tournament champion.
In 2012, Sri Lanka hosted the mega event, and for the first time, a host country won the honor of playing in the final. However, the tradition of not winning the World Cup could not be broken. In the final, the West Indies, led by Darren Simi, beat the Islanders at home.
The fifth T20 World Cup was played in Bangladesh in 2014, and the final match was played between India and Sri Lanka. However, India could not realize the dream of lifting the trophy for the second time, and Sri Lanka’s appearance in the world T20. A new world champion was found.
The sixth World Cup of the short format was played in 2016, hosted by India. West Indies and England teams collided in the final, and West Indies defeated the India to become T20 world champions for the second time.
After the 2016 edition, the ICC announced that the next event would be held after four years, and India was given the 2020 host. This event was played in 2021; however, due to the dangerous spread of COVID-19 in India in 2021, the hosting rights remained with India, but the event was played in UAE and Oman. The final was played between New Zealand and Australia, and the Kangaroos became the short-format world champions for the first time.
In 2022, defending champions Australia hosted the T20 World Cup but could not defend their title, and England lifted the World Cup trophy for the second time by defeating Pakistan at the historic cricket ground in Melbourne.
The ninth edition of the ICC T Twenty World Cup is underway, and for the first time, it is being played jointly by the West Indies and the United States. Both teams qualified in the Super Eight, but the host teams could not advance beyond this stage; thus, once again, the host country’s dream of lifting the trophy remained unfulfilled.