ISLAMABAD: As many as seven host cities have been announced for the ICC Men’s Twenty20 Cricket World Cup 2022 to be staged in Australia with the final line-up for the event now confirmed. The event, which was scheduled to take place between October 16 and November 13 next year would see a total of 45 matches hosted across Adelaide, Brisbane, Geelong, Hobart, Melbourne, Perth, and Sydney, said a press release issued here. The ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2022 Final would be hosted under lights at the MCG on November 13, 2022. The semi-finals would be hosted at the Sydney Cricket Ground and Adelaide Oval on November 9 and 10, 2022 respectively. Men’s T20 World Cup 2021 champions Australia and runner-up New Zealand plus Afghanistan, Bangladesh, England, India, Pakistan, and South Africa as the next highest-ranked teams would gain direct entry into the Super 12 stage of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2022. Namibia, Scotland, Sri Lanka, and the West Indies would play in Round 1. The four remaining spots at Australia 2022 would be filled via the ongoing qualification pathway, culminating in two global qualifying tournaments one to take place in Oman in February and the other in Zimbabwe in June and July. Head of Events, Chris Tetley said, “We are looking forward to seeing the return of ICC events to Australia and are delighted to announce the seven host cities for the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2022. Following the success of the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup in 2020 and a two-year postponement, our sights are now firmly set on planning for the 2022 event in collaboration with the LOC. “With 12 teams already confirmed in the line-up, we eagerly await the culmination of the qualification process to see which other teams will join them,” he said.