8 teams to compete for remaining 2 slots in Women's T20I World Cup

Eight teams -- Bangladesh, Ireland, Papua New Guinea, Scotland, Thailand, UAE, the United States and Zimbabwe -- will meet in a series of T20I Qualifiers from September 18

Eight teams -- Bangladesh, Ireland, Papua New Guinea, Scotland, Thailand, UAE, the United States and Zimbabwe -- will meet in a series of T20I Qualifiers here from September 18 to decide which two teams will board the flight to South Africa next year for the ICC Women's T20 World Cup.

South Africa, Australia, England, India, New Zealand, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and West Indies have qualified for the mega event based on the ICC T20I rankings, with the last two spots remaining to be filled in the 10-team tournament.

Bangladesh will have to take the World Cup Qualifiers route as they are just outside the group of teams already qualified with a Women's T20I Ranking of 9. The US enter the Qualifiers as the dark horses with a ranking of 28.

The Women's T20 World Cup Qualifiers will be played across two venues in Abu Dhabi -- Zayed Cricket Stadium and Tolerance Oval. The group games will take place on September 18, 19, 21, followed by the playoffs and a final on September 25.

The top two teams will seal their berth in the main event, which will be played in South Africa in February and March next year, according to ICC.

The eight teams in the Qualifiers have been divided into two groups of four, with the top two teams in each group progressing to a playoff that will decide the final qualifiers for the Women's T20 World Cup.

The top team in each group will take on the second-place finisher in the opposite group, with the winners of each playoff booking a berth to South Africa. The two qualifiers will then play in a final to determine which group they will go to in the T20 World Cup.

Group A comprises Bangladesh, Ireland, Scotland and United States, while Group B has Papua New Guinea, Thailand, UAE and Zimbabwe.

--IANS

akm/