Despite Pakistan’s last match against Ireland in Fort Lauderdale, Florida got washed out on Monday, Pakistan can still qualify directly for the 2026 T20 World Cup. India and Sri Lanka will jointly host that World Cup.
Automatic Qualification for 2026
According to the qualifying rules, 12 of the 20 teams will receive automatic qualifications. India and Sri Lanka, as hosts, will be the first two teams on the list. They will gain direct entry into the next edition along with all Super 8 teams from the 2024 T20 World Cup. India, having already qualified for the Super 8s from Group A, meets the requirements. Other teams that have made the Super 8 cut and gained direct entry into the 2026 edition include South Africa (Group D), West Indies and Afghanistan (Group C), Australia (Group B) and the USA (Group A).
Remaining Spots for Super 8
Bangladesh or Netherlands will advance from Group D while Scotland and England are vying for a Super 8 spot from Group B. Including Sri Lanka, there will be nine teams, and three more teams will join them based on the highest-ranked teams as per the ICC Men’s T20I rankings on June 30, 2024.
Pakistan’s Ranking
Pakistan is currently seventh with 241 rating points in the latest T20I rankings, while New Zealand, who also had an early exit, are sixth with 247 points. These two sides are well ahead of teams like Bangladesh (9th with 226 points), Ireland (11th with 195 points), Scotland (12th with 192 points), Zimbabwe (13th with 192 points), Namibia (14th with 189 points), Netherlands (15th with 185 points), UAE (16th with 176 points), Nepal (18th with 170 points), Oman (19th with 163 points), PNG (20th with 145 points), Uganda (21st with 135 points), Hong Kong (22nd with 135 points) and Canada (23rd with 129 points).
Regional Qualification Pathway
The remaining eight teams will be determined through the ICC’s regional qualification pathway. Two each will be filled through regional qualification processes of Europe, Asia and Africa, with one each from the East Asia Pacific and Americas regions.
The eight teams that came through pathway processes in this edition were Ireland and Scotland (Europe), Nepal and Oman (Asia), Namibia and Uganda (Africa), Canada (Americas) and Papua New Guinea (East Asia Pacific). The USA gained entry by being the joint hosts.