In a major development, the International Cricket Council has approved the qualification process for the 2026 T20 WC.
The tournament will be jointly hosted by India and Sri Lanka. The Cricket Governing Body recently outlined the process for all the teams to qualify for the tournament. The qualification process was finalized in an executive board meeting held in Dubai.
Notably, ICC has replicated the upcoming 2024 T20 World Cup format, where 20 teams will take part in the competition and play across 55 matches.
The 2026 T20 World Cup will be held in the same format, with the top eight teams T20 World Cup 2024 earning direct qualification. India and Sri Lanka will earn direct qualification for being the hosts of the tournament.
The remaining positions will be filled from the highest-ranked teams on the ICC Men’s T20 ranking tables as of 30th June 2024. The last eight spots will be filled through regional qualifiers. The top two teams from Europe Qualifiers, Asia Qualifiers, and Africa Qualifiers will make it through, while one team each will earn qualification from East Asia-Pacific Qualifier and Americas Qualifier.
“The ICC Board also approved the qualification process for the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026. The event, which will be held in India and Sri Lanka, will see 12 automatic qualifiers. These will include the joint hosts along with the top eight teams from the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024 with the remaining spots (between 2-4 depending on host finishing positions) to be filled from the next highest-ranked teams on the ICC Men’s T20I rankings table as at 30 June 2024. The remaining eight teams will be identified through Regional Qualifiers,” the ICC media release read.
ICC T20 WC 2026 qualification spots
- Hosts – 2 teams (India and Sri Lanka)
- Top 8 teams from T20 World Cup 2024 edition
- Two highest-ranked ICC T20 teams after above ten sides
- Europe Qualifiers – 2 teams
- Asia Qualifiers – 2 teams
- Africa Qualifiers – 2 teams
- East Asia-Pacific Qualifier – 1 team
- Americas Qualifier – 1 team
Notably, this is the second time that India and Sri Lanka will be hosting the ICC T20 event. Sri Lanka hosted the tournament in the 2012 edition, while the 2016 edition of the T20 World Cup was conducted in India.
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