T20 World Cup 2022: 3 things that will be happening for the first time

The latest edition of the T20 World Cup will get underway in Australia on Sunday, October 16, with a first-round match between Sri Lanka and Namibia in Geelong. The tournament will conclude with the grand finale at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) on November 13.

This year’s ICC event will be the eighth edition of the T20 World Cup. The first-ever championship was held in South Africa in 2007. Team India were crowned the inaugural champions of the competition after they defeated Pakistan in a thrilling final in Johannesburg. The Men in Blue have not won the title since their triumph in the first edition.

West Indies are the only nation to have lifted the T20 World Cup more than once. They won the trophy for the first time in 2012 and emerged champions in 2016 as well. Asian nations Pakistan and Sri Lanka have won the title once each, in 2009 and 2014, respectively. England were surprise winners in 2010, while Australia are the defending champions, having clinched last year’s edition.

The T20 World Cup 2022 will witness a few firsts. Let us tell you in detail about the three of them.

---

#1 New playing conditions

The extra fielder penalty made an impact in the Asia Cup. Pic: Getty Images

The T20 World Cup in Australia will be the first ICC championship to take place as per the new playing conditions, which came into effect from October 1. The biggest change, of course, is that running out the non-striker for backing up too far is now officially under the “run-out” section of the laws of the game. Earlier, this was termed "unfair play".

This mode of “run-out” has been a matter of intense debate and a new controversy was sparked after Deepti Sharma ran out Charlie Dean during India Women's tour of England last month. There have been mixed reactions to Sharma’s act, with some terming it unsporting. At the same time, a lot of support has also flown in for the Indian cricketer.

There was also an awkward moment during the ICC press conference on Saturday, when captains were asked to raise their hands if they were ready to run out the non-striker. While no one lifted their hands, the presenter had to chip in to break the eerie silence.

Among other key changes is the penalty of having to bring an additional fielder inside the fielding circle (for the remaining overs of the innings) in case the fielding side fails to bowl their overs at the scheduled time. Also, when a batter is out caught, the new player will come in at the end of the striker, regardless of whether or not the batters crossed before the catch was taken.

Further, any movement by fielders deemed unfair and deliberate while a bowler is running in to bowl will result in the umpire awarding five penalty runs to the batting side. The delivery will be declared a dead ball.

The fifth major change to the ICC's playing conditions is that batters will now be required to have some part of their bat or person remain within the pitch. If they venture beyond that, the umpire will signal a dead ball. Also, any ball that would force the batter to leave the pitch will also be called a no-ball.

---

#2 New hosts

Australia will be hosting the T20 World Cup for the first time. Pic: Getty Images

The T20 World Cup 2022 will also see a new host for the ICC event. Australia co-hosted the 50-over World Cup in 1992 and 2015, but had never organized the T20 competition before.

They were supposed to host the 2020 edition, which got postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Subsequently, the UAE hosted the 2021 edition, while Australia were given the rights to conduct the 2022 event.

While South Africa hosted the first-ever T20 World Cup in 2007, England, West Indies, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and India are the other nations in which the competition has been held over the years.

---

#3 Hosts and defending champions!

Australia are the defending champions in the competition. Pic: Getty Images

The 2022 edition will also be the first instance of the hosts also being the defending champions of the event. While India won the inaugural edition in 2007, the 2009 edition took place in England. Pakistan won the competition that year and attempted to defend their crown in the West Indies in 2010.

England won the 2010 T20 World Cup and went into the 2012 edition in Sri Lanka as defending champions. West Indies emerged victorious in the 2012 competition and had to try and defend their crown in Bangladesh in 2014.

Sri Lanka won the T20 World Cup in Bangladesh and went to India as defending champions in 2016, where the West Indies lifted the trophy for the second time. By virtue of winning the 2021 edition in the UAE, Australia have now become the first team to get a chance to defend their T20 World Cup title at home!

---