The ICC T20 World Cup 2026, to be co-hosted by India and Sri Lanka, is scheduled for the February-March window, and all the participating teams have been locked up, with the UAE sealing the final 20th spot on the list.
India and Sri Lanka are the official co-hosts of the upcoming ICC T20 World Cup 2026. The schedule is yet to be released; however, it is known that Sri Lanka will feature all games of both Pakistan and Sri Lanka.
With 4 months left for the World Cup, all 20 teams for participation in the ICC tournament are finalized, and the groups should be announced within the coming months. India will enter their home World Cup as the defending champions and will have the upper hand at retaining their title.
UAE seal 20th spot for ICC T20 World Cup 2026
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) made its way through to the group stages of the 2026 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup in India and Sri Lanka. They defeated Japan on Thursday and have reached the main stages, securing the final spot on the list.
Haider Ali 3/20 and a strong start from their openers, Alishan Sharafu and skipper Muhammad Waseem, helped them leap past Japan in the Asia-EAP Qualifier tournament in Al Amerat. The comfortably chased the target of 117 runs.
The UAE has now joined Nepal and Oman as the last three teams to secure the World Cup spots in the upcoming edition. They were also part of the previous World Cup, which was played in the USA and the West Indies last year in 2024.
Other than the host nations India and Sri Lanka, the top seven teams from the 2024 T20 World Cup-Afghanistan, Australia, Bangladesh, England, South Africa, the United States of America, and the West Indies have qualified for the 2026 World Cup. On the other hand, New Zealand, Pakistan and Ireland have qualified based on their current T20I rankings.
Canada qualified for the World Cup spot uncontested, and Italy are set to play their first ICC T20 World Cup
From the American Qualifiers, the two teams, West Indies and the United States of America, had already qualified for the World Cup without any contention, which further helped Canada to also take the lead and lone position in the American Qualifier.
Other than Canada, there is a bigger surprise for this edition of the T20 World Cup, and it’s in Italy, the European team that will debut in the main stages of an ICC tournament. The Netherlands was the other team to qualify from Europe.
Namibia and Zimbabwe have, on the other hand, grabbed the two top spots from the African Qualifiers, hence wrapping up the entire 20 teams for participation in the upcoming Men’s ICC event.
Full list of teams qualified fro T20 WC 2026: India, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, Australia, Bangladesh, England, South Africa, USA, West Indies, Ireland, New Zealand, Pakistan, Canada, Italy, Netherlands, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Nepal, Oman, and UAE
ICC T20 World Cup 2026 to progress with Super-8 stage
Just like the 2024 ICC World Cup, the 2026 tournament will follow the same format as the previous edition. The 20 participating sides will be split into four groups, and the two top teams will advance to the Super-8 stage.
The Super-8 stage also marks the presence of two different groups with 4 teams each, and the two top teams from these groups advance into the semi-finals of the ICC T20 World Cup. The winners from these semi-final games clash in the final for the ICC T20 World Cup title.