India and Sri Lanka will play host to the latest edition of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, scheduled to be played between February 7 and March 8. It will be the 10th iteration of the biannual competition, which the ICC inaugurated as the ‘World T20’ back in 2007 in South Africa.
England (2009), the West Indies (2010), Sri Lanka (2012), Bangladesh (2014), India (2016), the UAE and Oman (2021), Australia (2022), and the West Indies and the USA (2024) were hosts of the other editions of the tournament.
Given the high-risk and high-reward nature of the 20-over format, it hasn’t been easy for teams to be consistently great at the biannual tournament. Yet multiple leading international sides have managed to stamp their authority at respective editions
of the T20 World Cup.
Backing their youth and playing an exciting brand of cricket, India emerged as the winners of the maiden T20 World Cup after beating their archrivals Pakistan in a famous final in Johannesburg. But the Men in Green made amends in 2009 after backing their incisive bowling attack with a set of trailblazers in the batting department. They pulled off memorable victories over South Africa in the semi-final and Sri Lanka in the final at Lord’s.
Nine months later, England lifted the coveted crown with a spirited campaign that culminated with their imposing victory over Australia in the final in Barbados.
When the tournament moved to Sri Lanka in 2012, the West Indies and their battery of power hitters and the spin duo of Samuel Badree and Sunil Narine produced a dominant run and bagged home the trophy. Losing the final at home that year, the Sri Lankans pulled off a perfect heist against India at the corresponding game in 2014 in Dhaka. The Men in Blue, who had registered five consecutive wins leading into the final, stumbled badly when it mattered the most.
List ICC Men’s T20 World Cup Winners
| YEAR | HOST | WINNER | RUNNER-UP |
| 2007 | South Africa | India | Pakistan |
| 2009 | England | Pakistan | Sri Lanka |
| 2010 | West Indies | England | Australia |
| 2012 | Sri Lanka | West Indies | Sri Lanka |
| 2014 | Bangladesh | Sri Lanka | India |
| 2016 | India | West Indies | England |
| 2021 | UAE | Australia | New Zealand |
| 2022 | Australia | England | Pakistan |
| 2024 | West Indies and USA | India | South Africa |
In 2016, the honours went to the West Indies again as they established their T20 fortress with some of their finest players of the fast-paced format.
The competition then underwent a five-year hiatus before being played again in the UAE and Oman. Australia finally grabbed the elusive silverware by beating their Trans-Tasman rivals New Zealand in the final in Dubai. England and India then came back fighting to win the following two editions of the competition, respectively. England hammered Pakistan in the final in Melbourne, while India snatched victory from the jaws of defeat in Barbados against the South Africans.
