"What excites me is the decision to extend World Twenty20 event, which takes place in 2014 in Bangladesh": Lorgat.

The International Cricket Council executive board has opted to expand the number of teams in the 2014 World Twenty20 tournament in Bangladesh from 12 to 16.

“What excites me is the decision to extend the World Twenty20 event, which takes place in 2014 in Bangladesh,” ICC Chief Executive Haroon Lorgat told reporters in Dubai on Monday.

“From then onwards the board has decided to expand the event to 16 teams. I’m sure that is very comforting to all associates and affiliates…it provides them with a greater chance of competing on the global stage.”

The Twenty20 World Cup will be played this year in Sri Lanka from Sept 18-Oct 7 between 12 teams. The current 10 full members will be joined by six qualifiers in the next version from 2014.

The move was announced Monday at the end of a two-day meeting and aims to appease the concerns of associate members who were angered when the ICC refused to expand this year s tournament.

The board also approved three additional Twenty20 internationals to be played in the years in which the World Twenty20 is scheduled. Current rules limit the number of T20 internationals to a maximum of 12 per team.

However, the board postponed a decision on the Woolf report, which calls for a sweeping reforms of the ICC, until its next meeting in June.