DUBAI: The 20-team lineup for the T20 World Cup next year, which will be hosted jointly by India and Sri Lanka, is finally out.
According to a report on cricket website “CricInfo,” United Arab Emirates (UAE) has qualified automatically for the T20 World Cup 2026 as they defeated Japan by 8 wickets in their favor in the Asia/East Asia-Pacific Qualifier Tournament.
UAE success was attributed to a superb performance from Haider Ali, who was awarded the figures of 3 wickets for 20 runs. UAE openers Mohammad Wasim and Ali Shan Sharfo also chipped in with a 70-run partnership, thereby leading the UAE to victory.
Having beat Japan, UAE along with Nepal and Oman has now officially announced its qualification in the World Cup. 20 countries will join the tournament.
Besides that, host nations India and Sri Lanka, and top 7 teams of T20 World Cup 2024 Afghanistan, Australia, Bangladesh, England, South Africa, USA, and West Indies are given the automatic qualification for the next event in 2026.
New Zealand, Pakistan, and Ireland too were given a direct entry to the grand fiesta based on ICC T20 International rankings.
Canada has won the exclusive ‘American Qualifier’ position in the Americas region, while Italy will remain in the T20 World Cup for the first time.
Due to the European tournament, the Netherlands secured the place, while Namibia and Zimbabwe qualified for Top 16 through the African qualifiers. The other three places were secured by, in turn, Nepal, Oman, and UAE, who secured their places through the Asia-East Asia-Pacific (EA-AP) qualifier this week and filled the 20-team roster.
The format of the 2026 tournament will be the same as the last one with 20 teams split into 4 groups of 5 teams each. Each team in a group will play one match against the other 4 teams.
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The second phase after the group stage of the tournament is the Super 8 phase where the 2 highest-placed teams from each group will advance and they will be divided into 2 teams in 4 new groups. The top two from each Super 8 group will advance to the semifinals and the final winners will advance to the final.
