The ICC has announced that Pakistan will feature in the 2026 T20 World Cup. Though the team performed poorly in the recently concluded campaign, finishing 7th in the T20I rankings and rankings list, their qualification for the mega event is certain because of the position the country holds in the global cricketing matrix.
The 2026 T20 World Cup will have 20 teams; two places were automatically given to hosts India and Sri Lanka. Of these, 12 teams were qualified directly among the total 20 slots. The remaining eight would be finalized by regional qualifiers, with two each from Africa, Asia, and Europe, and one each from North America and the East-Asia Pacific region.
Apart from Pakistan, the teams that have confirmed a place through the qualifiers and rankings include Afghanistan, Australia, Bangladesh, England, South Africa, West Indies, and the United States. New Zealand was placed at 6, and Ireland at 11, and both of them cruised through because of ICC T20I rankings.
This qualification process puts a damper on the spirit of competitiveness and globalization with which the sport is played. The ICC also looks to get in a decent number of varying regions. Of course, this regional stage of qualification will be fiercely competitive, as countries hope to complete the numbers for the tournament with those who have already qualified.
This format of the 2026 T20 World Cup is quite similar to what the 2024 edition is going to adopt in the USA and the Caribbean. The twenty teams that make up the field will be divided into five groups of five each. This structure tries to marry comprehensiveness with competitiveness, allowing teams to really prove themselves on the world stage.
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