More than 600,000 tickets sold for T20 World Cup

The global showpiece starts on Sunday at the preliminary stage, before the big guns join in from October 22. Seven Australian cities are hosting the tournament. Australia's opening match as defending champions against New Zealand, a repeat of last year's final, will be played before a capacity crowd at the Sydney Cricket Ground.

Read AlsoHistory beckons for title-holders Australia at T20 World Cup

Aaron Finch's men enjoy the advantage of being the only winners of cricket's shortest format to have a crack at defending the title on home territory since the T20 World Cup started in 2007.

The India-Pakistan fixture the following night is also a sell-out with more than 90,000 fans set to jam the Melbourne Cricket Ground after additional standing-room tickets were snapped up within 10 minutes. Only a small number of tickets remain for the event's opening match-day, which pits Sri Lanka against Namibia before UAE face the Netherlands at the 36,000-capacity Kardinia Park Stadium in Geelong.

Read AlsoT20 World Cup 2022: Complete format guide

The eighth edition of the T20 World Cup officially begins October 16 and a total of 45 matches are set to be played across 7 venues. The event format will be group stage matches to determine 4 qualifier teams in Round 1, followed by the Super 12s (where 8 teams will be waiting for the 4 qualifiers)

"We're delighted that we're set to see big crowds for both the opening match of the event in Geelong this Sunday and the first weekend of the Super 12 stage in a week's time," said ICC T20 World Cup chief Michelle Enright. "It's going to be fantastic to see full stadiums for cricket in October."