Dharamsala will host the India-Pakistan Group 2 game on March 19, the International Cricket Council announced during the event launch in Mumbai on Friday (December 11).
New Zealand and Australia, the other two teams in India's group, will clash with the hosts in Nagpur (on March 15) and Mohali (on March 27) respectively. India will also play the winner of Group A from the qualifying round on March 23 in Bangalore. Clubbed together in Group A, Bangladesh, Netherlands, Ireland and Oman will fight it out to earn the right to progress to the main round from March 8 to March 13.
Group 1 consists of Sri Lanka, South Africa, West Indies, England and the winner of Group B from qualifiers. Zimbabwe, Scotland, Hong Kong and Afghanistan will fight it out for the last remaining spot in the main round.
The ICC World T20 semifinals will be staged in Delhi and Mumbai on March 30 and March 31 respectively. The final will be held at Eden Gardens in Kolkata on April 3. No reserve days have been announced for the semifinals, implying that in case of a washout, the team that finishes on top of its respective group will proceed to the final.
The ICC Women's World T20 will also be played in the same window and will be contested by ten teams that have been divided into two groups. Australia, South Africa, New Zealand, Sri Lanka and Ireland have been placed in Group A while England, West Indies, India, Pakistan and Bangladesh form Group B.
Shashank Manohar, the ICC chairman, said that he's confident that the event is going to be another successful one. "India is a country where cricket is a religion and not many places can match the passion for the game like India," he said. "I am fully confident that the Board of Control for Cricket in India will deliver an outstanding world cricket event, just like the ICC Cricket World Cups in 1987, 1996 and 2011.
"The ICC and BCCI are fully committed and will work together to make this a memorable event. I invite fans from across the world to witness fast-paced cricketing action on the field and enjoy the hospitality and culture of India, off it."
Anurag Thakur, the BCCI secretary, acknowledged that preparations are underway and the board is ready to host the event. "We, as hosts, are fully prepared to organise one of the most entertaining spectacles in world cricket," gushed Thakur. "We draw experience from hosting three ICC Cricket World Cups and are ready to make the ICC World Twenty20 India 2016 one of the most memorable events.
"Our preparations are in full swing, and BCCI and ICC is working together to make it a lifetime experience for the players and the fans. India is a vibrant country - young, full of colour, energy and exuberance - and is very much like the concept of Twenty20 cricket itself. We would encourage everyone involved with the game to experience the best of India."
The winner of this edition will be given a prize money of USD 5.6 million, 86 per cent more from the 2014 edition held in Bangladesh that Sri Lanka won by beating India. The total prize money for the women's tournament is going to be USD 400,000, an increase of 122 per cent.
A total of 58 matches - 35 men's and 23 women's - will be played across eight venues and the ICC had announced the venues earlier this year. Bengaluru, Chennai, Dharamsala, Kolkata, Mohali, Mumbai, Nagpur and Delhi will host the games. Chennai is the only venue that will not host any men's games.
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