The UAE became the last team to secure their berth for the 2026 T20 World Cup that takes place early next year in India and Sri Lanka, capping the qualifying campaign for the biggest showpiece event in cricket.
It was the fifth instance of the UAE qualifying for a World Cup. The national team earlier featured in the 1996 and 2015 ODI World Cups, while they also played in the 2014 and 2022 T20 tournaments.
The UAE made it to the World Cup after securing a top-three spot at the Asia-Pacific qualifier in Oman earlier this month.
With it, the countdown begins to the main event that takes place in around 100 days from now.
Which teams have qualified for T20 World Cup 2026?
A total of 20 teams will feature in the T20 World Cup next year. They include hosts India and Sri Lanka, teams who secured automatic qualification at the 2024 T20 World Cup and sides who won various qualifiers.
Hosts: India, Sri Lanka
Automatic qualification via 2024 T20 WC: Australia, England, South Africa, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, USA, West Indies
Placement through rankings: Ireland, New Zealand, Pakistan
Qualifying winners: Canada (Americas), Italy (Europe), Netherlands (Europe), Namibia (Africa), Zimbabwe (Africa), Nepal (Asia), Oman (Asia), UAE (Asia)
Venue
The tournament will be held in India and Sri Lanka. The islanders are hosting the T20 extravaganza for the first time since 2012. India hosted the 2016 T20 World Cup and the 2023 ODI World Cup. The 2021 T20 World Cup was moved to the UAE due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Date
The T20 World Cup will last for a month and is set to begin in the first week of February, 2026.
Format
The 2026 tournament will have the same format as last year. The 20 teams will be placed in four groups of five teams each. The top two finishers from each group will move on to the Super Eights phase.
The Super Eights will have two groups of four sides. From there, the top two finishers from each group will move on to the semi-finals.
Where will Pakistan play?
As has become a recurring theme in major tournaments, the presence of India and Pakistan brings with it scheduling issues.
Pakistan will not travel to India for the tournament, unlike the 2023 ODI World Cup where they played in India.
Since the four-day war between the neighbours earlier this year and the ugly scenes between the teams during the Asia Cup in Dubai, any match between them is fraught with danger.
Pakistan are set to play all their games in Sri Lanka. However, what happens in the knockout stage remains to be seen.
Prize money
Last year saw a record prize fund of $11.25 million for the T20 World Cup. Winners India received a winners' cheque of $2.45m. They also got a winning bonus of a staggering $15m from the Board of Control for Cricket in India.
Runners-up South Africa received a cheque of $1.28m.
