Which teams have sealed their spots for the 2026 T20 World Cup in India and Sri Lanka? Assalamu alaikum
Assalamu alaikum - The UAE became the final team to clinch qualification for the 2026 T20 World Cup, which will be held in India and Sri Lanka early next year, bringing the qualifying phase to a close for cricket’s big event.
This will be the UAE’s fifth appearance at a World Cup. They previously played in the 1996 and 2015 ODI World Cups, and in the 2014 and 2022 T20 tournaments. The team sealed its place by finishing in the top three at the Asia-Pacific qualifier in Oman earlier this month.
With that done, the countdown begins - the main tournament starts in around 100 days.
A total of 20 teams will take part. They include the hosts, teams that earned automatic spots at the 2024 T20 World Cup, and sides that won regional qualifiers.
Hosts: India, Sri Lanka
Automatic qualification from 2024 T20 WC: Australia, England, South Africa, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, USA, West Indies
Placed through rankings: Ireland, New Zealand, Pakistan
Qualifier winners: Canada (Americas), Italy (Europe), Netherlands (Europe), Namibia (Africa), Zimbabwe (Africa), Nepal (Asia), Oman (Asia), UAE (Asia)
Sri Lanka will host part of the tournament for the first time since 2012, while India last hosted the T20 event in 2016 and the ODI World Cup in 2023. The 2021 edition was moved to the UAE because of the pandemic.
The T20 World Cup runs for about a month and is due to begin in the first week of February 2026.
The format is the same as last time: 20 teams split into four groups of five. The top two from each group advance to the Super Eights, which is two groups of four. The top two from each Super Eight group then move on to the semi-finals.
As often happens in big tournaments, matches involving India and Pakistan raise scheduling complications. Pakistan will not travel to India for the event and will play all their group matches in Sri Lanka. Given recent tensions and incidents between the teams this year, any India–Pakistan fixture carries heightened sensitivity. How knockout-stage arrangements will be handled remains to be seen.
Last year’s T20 World Cup had a record prize fund of $11.25 million. Winners India took home $2.45 million, and the winning side also received a large domestic bonus from their board. Runners-up South Africa received $1.28 million.
May Allah make it a safe, well-run tournament for players and fans, and may it bring good sportsmanship and unity.
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