New Delhi, Sep 27 (IANS): India will host the Deaf ICC T20 World Cup in November this year. The tournament will be hosted by the Deaf Cricket Society (DCS), the apex governing body, it was announced on Thursday.

The World Cup will see participation of teams from as many as eight countries, over a nine-day period and over 200 players vying for the top honours of being the World T20 champions, according to a release.

The tournament is being held from November 23-30 in Gurugram.

The participating countries are England, Australia, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal and South Africa, apart from hosts India.

Sumit Jain, General Secretary, Deaf Cricket Society, commented: "Cricket is still one of the most popular sports played and watched in the country. In 2017 alone, the sport enjoyed 717 million TV viewers and around 27 billion impressions per week."

"The annual investment in Indian cricket is as much as Rs 8000 crore. And today we are confident that Disability sport such as Cricket will gain momentum and support by this world class tournament being held in India," he added.

Stefan Pichowski, Chairman, Deaf, International Cricket Council said: "we are delighted that India is hosting the second edition of Deaf-ICC World Cup T20. The enthusiasm from the teams across the world is overwhelming and the visit to India will be very special as it is known for promoting the spirit of Cricket.

"Globally, initiatives to introduce cricket to people with disabilities has shown immense benefits. The sport has helped significantly in raising confidence levels, improving sensory and motor skills, quality of life and self-esteem as well as social skills and emotional growth," he added.

Eight teams will be divided into two groups and each team will play three matches in the group Stage. Two teams from each group will qualify for the Semi-Finals.