ICC World T20 2016 full schedule

ICC T20 World Cup 2016

The stage is set. The qualifiers for the sixth edition of the highly-anticipated World T20 will begin from Tuesday (March 8) while the ongoing warm-up fixtures will continue till March 15, with some of the most-notable ones being the India-West Indies clash (March 10), New Zealand v England (March 12), India v South Africa (March 12) and Australia v West Indies (March 13), to name a few. The tournament proper will begin from March 15, with 2007 champions India taking on New Zealand in a Group 2 fixture in Nagpur.

Here's the complete list of fixtures:

Date	Time	Match Details	Venue
March 8, 2016	03:00 PM	Hong Kong v Zimbabwe	Nagpur
March 8, 2016	07:30 PM	Afghanistan v Scotland	Nagpur
March 9, 2016	03:00 PM	Bangladesh v Netherlands	Dharamsala
March 9, 2016	07:30 PM	Ireland v Oman	Dharamsala
March 10, 2016	03:00 PM	Scotland v Zimbabwe	Nagpur
March 10, 2016	07:30 PM	Afghanistan v Hong Kong	Nagpur
March 11, 2016	03:00 PM	Oman v Netherlands	Dharamsala
March 11, 2016	07:30 PM	Bangladesh v Ireland	Dharamsala
March 12, 2016	03:00 PM	Afghanistan v Zimbabwe	Nagpur
March 12, 2016	07:30 PM	Hong Kong v Scotland	Nagpur
March 13, 2016	03:00 PM	Ireland v Netherlands	Dharamsala
March 13, 2016	07:30 PM	Bangladesh v Oman	Dharamsala
March 15, 2016	07:30 PM	India v New Zealand	Nagpur
March 16, 2016	03:00 PM	Pakistan v TBC	Kolkata
March 16, 2016	07:30 PM	England v West Indies	Mumbai
March 17, 2016	07:30 PM	Sri Lanka v TBC	Kolkata
March 18, 2016	03:00 PM	Australia v New Zealand	Dharamsala
March 18, 2016	07:30 PM	England v South Africa	Mumbai
March 19, 2016	07:30 PM	India v Pakistan	Dharamsala
March 20, 2016	03:00 PM	South Africa v TBC	Mumbai
March 20, 2016	07:30 PM	Sri Lanka v West Indies	Bengaluru
March 21, 2016	07:30 PM	Australia v TBC	Bengaluru
March 22, 2016	07:30 PM	New Zealand v Pakistan	Mohali
March 23, 2016	03:00 PM	England v TBC	Delhi
March 23, 2016	07:30 PM	India v TBC	Bengaluru
March 25, 2016	03:00 PM	Australia v Pakistan	Mohali
March 25, 2016	07:30 PM	South Africa v West Indies	Nagpur
March 26, 2016	03:00 PM	New Zealand v TBC	Kolkata
March 26, 2016	07:30 PM	England v Sri Lanka	Delhi
March 27, 2016	03:00 PM	West Indies v TBC	Nagpur
March 27, 2016	07:30 PM	India v Australia	Mohali
March 28, 2016	07:30 PM	South Africa v Sri Lanka	Delhi
March 30, 2016	07:00 PM	TBC v TBC	Delhi
March 31, 2016	07:00 PM	TBC v TBC	Mumbai
April 3, 2016	07:00 PM	TBC v TBC	Kolkata

**TBCs to be confirmed.

ICC T20 World Cup 2016 Swansongs

Mahendra Singh Dhoni led India to victories in 10 out of 11 T20Is this years

New Delhi: The World Twenty20 opens on Tuesday starting with the preliminary phase. Here are five players considered likely to retire from international cricket after the tournament:

MAHENDRA SINGH DHONI (India)

Dhoni, then sporting long hair, entered Indian folklore when he captained the country to the inaugural World T20 title in 2007. Nine years later and if hosts India become the first country to lift the trophy for a second time, anticipation is high that "Captain Cool" will decide the time is right to walk away from international cricket. The 34-year-old wicketkeeper-batsman has already retired from Tests and despite remaining the brains behind India's on-field strategy, there is gathering evidence that his best playing days are behind him. 

Shahid Afridi has been under fire for his poor form with the the bat recently.

SHAHID AFRIDI (Pakistan)

Pakistan legend Afridi quit Test cricket in 2010 and ODIs after last year's World Cup, and the destructive batsman that fans call "Boom Boom" clearly has retirement on his mind. The 36-year-old, Pakistan's T20 skipper, has seen a big dip in his batting form over the last few years years and more recently his leg-spinners have also failed to trouble batsmen. His decline, including poor performances against New Zealand in January and England in November, has coincided with a slump in form for Pakistan in T20 internationals. "I have to look at the results of the team in the Asia Cup and then at World Twenty20 and that will help me take a final decision," Afridi told AFP recently. 

Lasith Malinga stepped down from Sri Lanka's captaincy on Monday.

LASITH MALINGA (Sri Lanka)

Malinga, 32, is the highest wicket-taker in T20 history and captained Sri Lanka to the World Twenty20 crown two years ago. His ability to bowl yorkers at will as he spearheaded Sri Lanka's pace attack has made him a mainstay of the island's recent success in short-form cricket. Major injuries have curtailed his career, however. Malinga gave up Tests at a relatively young age in 2011, had ankle surgery three years later and then suffered a grave knee injury in 2015. "If at this stage I have to take one or one-and-a-half years of rest, I would rather have to finish my career," Malinga said during the Asia Cup. 

Shane Watson had recently smashed his maiden Twenty20 century against India during the three-match series in Sydney.

SHANE WATSON (Australia)

Shane Watson has consistently defied critics to bounce back into the Australian side after serious injuries, and was the highest earner in this year's Indian Premier League auction. But at 34, time is surely running out for Watson on the international stage. After quitting Test cricket following last year's Ashes defeat to England, Watson was dropped from the ODI squad and admitted that a return to the international team was unlikely. But a successful season with Sydney Thunder in Australia's Big Bash League earned Watson a berth for this year's series against India.

Tillakaratne Dilshan has played 74 Twenty20Is for Sri Lanka, scoring 1751 runs.

TILLAKARATNE DILSHAN (Sri Lanka)

Popular opener Tillakaratne Dilshan has enjoyed a lengthy career and is an expert exponent of T20 cricket, thanks in part to his invention of the "Dilscoop", a reverse flip-shot played over his head. But at age 39, the former Sri Lankan captain is unlikely to be able to put off retirement for much longer.