Bengaluru: With exactly one year to go for the start of the T20 World Cup 2020 in Australia, India captain Virat Kohli has spoken about the importance of the ICC event and how team’s “big focus” is on the tournament.

T20 World Cup 2020 will be played in Australia from October 18 to November 15. The final will be hosted by Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG).

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To mark the one year-to-go until the big tournament, Kohli and other captains spoke about the event. In the 2016 edition of the tournament, India lost to West Indies in the semi-final in Mumbai. India, under Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s captaincy, won the inaugural World T20 in South Africa.

“The T20 World Cup in 2020 is a big focus for us, and it’s important that we use the next 12 months to place ourselves in the best possible position to compete for another major ICC trophy. Our players will be really motivated to take their opportunities when they get selected for T20I matches to put themselves forward for the T20 World Cup, as we want to have a settled team combination by the time we get to Australia,” Kohli said.

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The 30-year-old Kohli said it would be an honour for him to be the winning captain at the T20 World Cup.

He said, “India won the inaugural T20 World Cup in 2007 when the format was new and the future a bit unknown. Since then, T20 cricket has truly come of age and it would be an honour to be the second Indian captain to lift the T20 World Cup trophy, and hopefully the third if the Indian women can win it earlier in 2020.

"We receive such incredible support when we play in Australia, with stadiums often packed with a sea of blue shirts. I hope to see more of that when we come back to Australia next year.”

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Ten teams (Afghanistan, Australia, Bangladesh, England, India, New Zealand, Pakistan, South Africa, Sri Lanka, West Indies) have already qualified for the 16-team tournament. The remaining six places will be determined at the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup Global Qualifier event, which starts in the UAE today (October 18), and concludes on November 3.

To mark the one year-to-go until the tournament, the T20 World Cup 2020 has also launched the ‘Welcome to the Big Dance’ campaign. Alongside capturing the movement, energy and excitement that is expected from the players and fans at the event, ‘Big Dance’ also refers to the colloquial Australian sporting term, which is often used in reference to the pinnacle of a major sporting event.