- The World T20 will take place from June 14 to 30 in the Caribbean and the USA
- The tournament schedule is expected to be released by the ICC this week
- 10 teams will start in the USA, while the other 10 will start in the Caribbean
The opening match of next year's T20 World Cup will be a meeting between cricket minnows USA and Canada in America.
With fixtures due to be released later this week, the ICC has opted to start the tournament with a rare North American derby rather than a match between world champions England or global giants India.
The surprising decision is a nod to the fact that the first ever international cricket match was a match between the United States and Canada in Manhattan in 1844, 33 years before the first Test between England and Australia in Melbourne, a clash that would become the Ashes emerged five years later.
In the earlier contest, then billed as USA versus the Canadian province of the British Empire, the visitors won a three-day game by two innings and 23 runs.
In addition to the historic connection, the ICC also wants to launch the tournament in the USA, which is co-hosting with the West Indies.
The opening match of the 2024 T20 World Cup will be a meeting between the United States and Canada in America, a nod to the first international cricket match in 1844
India vs Pakistan – the biggest match of the tournament – will be played in New York
10 of the 20 participating teams will play their first game in the USA at stadiums in Texas, Florida and New York, with the other 10 starting in the West Indies, where all final stages, including a Super 8 round and semi-finals, will be played and finally.
All of England's group games will be played in Caribbean tourist attractions such as Antigua, St Lucia and Barbados, where the final will also take place.
India will play three of its games in the United States, with the tournament's biggest match against Pakistan at a temporary stadium on Long Island, 25 miles from downturn Manhattan, that has yet to be built.
At the request of ICC broadcast rights partner Star Sports, the matches in India are scheduled to begin at 9:30 a.m. local time to attract the largest possible TV audience at home.
The ICC declined to comment.
England are the reigning champions and will be based in the Caribbean for the group stage