Men's T20 World Cup qualification
| File:ICC Men's T20 World Cup (2024) logo text only.png | |
| Administrator | International Cricket Council |
|---|---|
| Number of teams | 87 (2026 qualification) 99 (overall) |
| Website | Official website |
| File:Cricket current event.svg 2026 Men's T20 World Cup qualification | |
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T20 World Cup qualification is the process national cricket teams go through to qualify for the Men's T20 World Cup. The qualification process begins about two years prior to the main event, where teams take part in regional events to qualify for the World Cup.
History
For the inaugural edition in 2007, the ten full members qualified automatically, while the remaining two teams qualified via the 2007 ICC World Cricket League Division One.[1] It was in 2008 that a separate qualifier was held for the T20 World Cup, and until the 2021 edition the full members of ICC qualified automatically for the tournament. From the 2021 edition, stipulated number of top ranked teams from the previous tournament secured automatic qualification for the next tournament. This format of qualification also opened a window for the associate member nations to secure direct spot based on their previous performance.[2] The regional competitions for teams to qualify for the global qualifiers were introduced in 2012, as each ICC region conducted events in different stages.[3] It was in the 2019 edition of qualifier, that each region had two stages of qualification process to get into the final qualifying tournament - Sub-regionals and Regional finals. In January 2019, ICC granted full Twenty20 International (T20Is) status to all its members, therefore all of the qualifier matches from this edition had full T20I status.[4] The 2022 edition of qualifier saw the introduction of a new format, as the final qualifier was held in two different tournaments (Qualifier A and B), the winners and runners-up of each of these tournaments qualified for the World Cup.[5] Owing to COVID-19 pandemic, the EAP and Asia regional tournaments were cancelled and teams advanced via T20I rankings.[6][7] After the expansion of World Cup from 16 to 20 teams in 2024, qualification pathway was also changed. The regional tournaments served as the final qualifying stage, as each of the ICC region were allotted fixed number of berths at the World Cup.[8]
Qualification berths by region
From 2007 to 2022, the teams qualified for the main event through a global qualifier as the final qualifying tournament. Hence, the ICC regions did not have a fixed number of berths at the World Cup.
2007-2022
| ICC region | 2007 South Africa |
2009 England |
2010 Cricket West Indies |
2012 Sri Lanka |
2014 Bangladesh |
2016 India |
2021 Oman United Arab Emirates |
2022 Australia |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Africa | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Americas | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Asia | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 1 |
| East Asia-Pacific | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Europe | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 2 |
| Total entrants | 2[lower-alpha 1] | 2 | 2 | 2 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 4 |
| Total berths in the World Cup | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 16 | 16 | 16 |
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- ↑ Kenya and Scotland qualified qualified via the 2007 ICC World Cricket League Division One
After adopting a new structure for the qualification from the 2024 edition, each of these regions had fixed number of qualification slots at the World Cup. So the regional finals acted as the final qualifying tournament.
2024-present
| ICC region | 2024 United States Cricket West Indies |
2026 India Sri Lanka |
2028 Australia New Zealand |
|---|---|---|---|
| Africa | 2 | 2 | TBD |
| Americas | 1 | 1 | TBD |
| Asia | 2 | 3 | TBD |
| East Asia-Pacific | 1 | TBD | |
| Europe | 2 | 2 | TBD |
| Total berths | 8 | 8 | 8 |
| Total teams in the World Cup | 20 | 20 | 20 |
First appearance in qualification by team
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Teams marked in italics had appeared in World Cup previously (either by qualifying via WCL or by having status of full member of ICC).
- ↑ All the six teams previously participated in the 2007 ICC World Cricket League Division One which was part of qualification for the 2007 edition.
- ↑ Morocco were expelled as ICC member in 2019.
- ↑ Non-member of the ICC.
- ↑ Zambia were expelled as ICC member in 2021.
Team performances
Key:
- bold typeface = participated in the final tournament
| F | Team qualified for T20 World Cup automatically as Full Member of the ICC |
| H | Team qualified for T20 World Cup automatically as Host |
| P | Team qualified for T20 World Cup automatically by final position in previous tournament |
| R | Team qualified for T20 World Cup automatically via ICC Men's T20I Team Rankings |
| Team qualified for T20 World Cup through the final qualifying tournament | |
| RG | Team was eliminated in the regional tournament (sub-regionals, regional final or regional divisions) |
| R1/R2 | Team reached First Round/Second Round in the final qualifying tournament |
| SF | Team reached Semi-Final in the final qualifying tournament (no third-place play-off) |
| 1st/2nd/etc | Team finished 1st/2nd/etc in the final qualifying tournament (global qualifier or regional final) |
| w | Withdrew from the qualifying tournament |
| s | Suspended from entering |
| Did not take part in qualification |
See also
References
- ↑ A long way from home "... place among the big boys in the inaugural Twenty20 World Championship in South Africa this September ..." from Cricinfo, retrieved 9 April 2007
- ↑ "Direct qualifiers for ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2020 confirmed". International Cricket Council. Archived from the original on 1 January 2019. Retrieved 1 January 2019.
- ↑ "Sixteen teams to contest 2012 World T20 qualifiers". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 14 March 2012.
- ↑ "All T20I matches to get international status". International Cricket Council. Archived from the original on 27 April 2018. Retrieved 26 April 2018.
- ↑ "ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2021 qualification process confirmed". International Cricket Council. Archived from the original on 26 March 2020. Retrieved 23 January 2020.
- ↑ "ICC's East-Asia Pacific qualifiers in Japan cancelled". CricBuzz. September 2021. Retrieved 1 September 2021.
- ↑ "Hong Kong progress after cancellation of Asia B Qualifier for 2022 men's T20 World Cup". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 11 October 2021.
- ↑ "Qualification for ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2024 commences with pathway events launching in Europe". International Cricket Council. Retrieved 31 May 2022.