The United Arab Emirates became the final team to book their place at next year’s ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 in India and Sri Lanka after sealing a top-three finish at the Asia/East Asia-Pacific Qualifier in Oman.
Led by skipper Muhammad Waseem, the UAE confirmed qualification with a decisive victory over Japan, ending the latter’s hopes of progressing. The result also ruled out Qatar and Samoa, who needed a Japanese win to stay in contention.
With UAE’s qualification, the full roster of 20 teams for the 2026 T20 World Cup is now complete, joining earlier qualifiers Nepal and Oman from the same regional event.
List of Teams Qualified for the 2026 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup
- India
- Sri Lanka
- Afghanistan
- Australia
- Bangladesh
- England
- South Africa
- United States of America (USA)
- West Indies
- Ireland
- New Zealand
- Pakistan
- Canada
- Italy
- Netherlands
- Namibia
- Zimbabwe
- Nepal
- Oman
- United Arab Emirates (UAE)
How each team booked their place in the tournament
Hosts quota
The defending champions India and 2014 champions Sri Lanka qualified for the ICC T20 World Cup 2026 from the hosts’ quota. While India won the last edition of the tournament, Sri Lanka were knocked out in the league stages.
On last edition’s performance
Seven teams have been given tickets to the ICC T20 World Cup 2026 on the basis of qualifying for the Super 8 stage of the 2024 edition. The teams who qualified from this quota are Afghanistan, Australia, Bangladesh, England, South Africa, United States of America (USA), and West Indies.
Based on ICC rankings
Apart from the top nine teams, three teams were given direct entry on the basis of their ICC T20 rankings among the remaining teams. New Zealand, Pakistan, and Ireland punched their tickets on the basis of this quota.
Regional qualifiers
The remaining eight teams were selected on the basis of regional qualifiers. Canada beat Bermuda in the American qualifiers and joined West Indies and the USA in the 2026 T20 World Cup from the American region.
Netherlands and Italy finished top two respectively in the European qualifiers and will join England and Ireland in the tournament from the European region, while Zimbabwe and Namibia qualified from the African qualifiers after finishing top two in the African regional finals.
Finally, Nepal, Oman, and UAE qualified from the Asian–EAP qualifiers after finishing as the top three teams in the qualifying rounds.