The Indian captain was asked who he would like to face in the final. “Australia at the Narendra Modi stadium in Ahmedabad,” he replied, wits intact, at the schedule announcement event of the 20-team tournament to be played between Feb 7-Mar 8.

The comments showed how for many Indians, let alone the players, the wounds of the 2023 ODI World Cup final defeat to Australia haven’t fully healed.

“I just want India to be in the final,” Rohit Sharma, sharing the dais with Surya said. “What happened is in the past. I know Surya said it with a heavy heart. I don’t care about the opposition (in the final).”

Rohit, the captain in 2023 and the winning captain of India’s 2024 T20 title triumph was named as the brand ambassador of the tournament by ICC Chairman Jay Shah. Despite India being placed in a relatively light Group A with USA, Netherlands and Namibia and arch-rivals Pakistan, Rohit was clear, India “must not take foot off the pedal” in the most unpredictable of formats in the game. Surya echoed those thoughts.

India will open their campaign on Feb 7 in Mumbai against USA, making it the first prime time match of the month-long event. Their much awaited contest against Pakistan will be a week later on Feb 15 in Colombo.

“We’ve played them recently in the Asia Cup and we had a good time. Everything was focused on cricket and nothing else. You may have seen that,” he said, laughing.

India-Pakistan matches, of late, haven’t been the most sporting, with no handshakes and no trophy handovers. The geo-political complexities had a bearing on the schedule too.

If India and Pakistan go beyond the Super 8 stage and face off in the semi-finals, the match will be played in Colombo. If only India make it, they would return to play in Mumbai. The same arrangement would continue for the final – either Colombo or Ahmedabad.

The format with 20 teams being divided in four groups of five in the league phase followed by the Super 8, is the same as the 2024 edition.

Co-hosts and showstoppers India will play at all the five Indian venues of the tournament. Their Super 8 matches, should they make it, will be in Ahmedabad, Chennai and Kolkata.

But beyond old rivalries and tensions, the T20 World Cup will also be about the newer nations like football giants Italy’s maiden appearance.

“T20 is cricket’s handshake with the world where teams ranked lower can beat teams ranked higher,” said Sanjog Gupta, ICC CEO. “We are the second largest sport in the world, but because one country loves the sport a lot. This is our opportunity to make it truly global.”