Two-time T20 World Cup winner Chris Gayle and USA bowler Ali Khan on Tuesday launched the Trophy Tour for the ninth edition of the men’s T20 World Cup that begins June 1, and will be played across the USA and West Indies.

The official launch of the Trophy Tour for the event took place at the famous Empire State Building in New York as the iconic skyscraper lit up in navy and pink – the official tournament colours – with Gayle pulling the lever to illuminate the structure.

This will be the first ICC event taking place in the United States and will be played across three venues – the brand new 34,000-seater Nassau County International Stadium in New York, the renovated Grand Prairie Cricket Stadium in Dallas and the Broward County Stadium in Lauderhill.

New York will host eight matches, while the other two venues will host four games each.

West Indies, the co-hosts of the event, will have matches taking place at iconic venues such as Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Guyana, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and Trinidad and Tobago.

The Trophy Tour will reach 15 countries across four continents passing sporting teams and stadia, famous landmarks and legendary cricketers to invite fans to participate in the ‘Out of this World’ cricket festival and glimpse at T20 World Cup’s most coveted prize.

In addition to these 15 countries, the Trophy will also visit emerging Americas cricket countries like Argentina, Brazil and Canada to entice new fans to the sport.

“With less than three months to go until the first ball of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024, there is huge anticipation for what will be a historic event for cricket in the Americas,” said Claire Furlong, ICC General Manager, Marketing and Communications.

“As we countdown to the World Cup, the Trophy Tour provides fans with the opportunity to be part of the event in locations across the globe. The trophy will travel extensively across the Americas, igniting the passion of both new and existing fans to share in the excitement of T20 cricket’s pinnacle global event coming to the region and what better way to kick it off than by lighting up one of the world’s most iconic buildings in one of the world’s most iconic cities.”

“Cricket has more than a billion fans and we want to give as many people as possible the opportunity to get up close with the trophy that will be lifted by the winning captain in Barbados on June 29,” Claire added.

Fans around the world will be able to follow the Trophy Tour virtually. Following huge public demand, the ICC also recently decided to release additional tickets to 51 out of the 55 matches. These tickets will now be available to matches in all nine host locations.