As soon as Pakistan was eliminated from the ongoing ICC T20 World Cup 2024, their former bowler Shoaib Akhtar said that the Men in Green would have to play the Qualifiers to seal their place in the next edition of the T20 World Cup.
Akhtar was definitely not the only one to say that Pakistan would have to play the qualifiers, but he was definitely one of the most prominent figures to say it. The top eight teams from the ongoing T20 World Cup or the teams that would qualify for the Super 8s would get automatic qualification in the next T20 World Cup, which will be jointly hosted by India and Sri Lanka in 2026.
Unsurprisingly, many, including some former Pakistan cricketers, believed that Pakistan would have to play the qualifiers to get a place in the upcoming World Cup. However, the Men in Green look set to book their place without taking the qualification route.
Here’s how Pakistan can directly qualify for the T20 World Cup 2026:
As per the rules, 12 of the 20 teams will get automatic qualification for the T20 World Cup 2026, while the remaining 8 teams will be decided through knockouts, Cricbuzz reported. Two of those 12 teams are India and Sri Lanka, who will qualify as co-hosts.
Furthermore, India also made it to the Super 8, while Sri Lanka did not. As a result, seven more teams will make it to the upcoming T20 World Cup based on their performance in the ongoing tournament.
The total number of teams stands at 9. The remaining 3 teams will be selected based on ICC T20I rankings. The top three ranked teams as per the ICC Men’s T20I Ranking Table of June 30, 2024 will also gain automatic qualification for the 2026 T20 World Cup.
Pakistan is currently in seventh place and appears on track to reach the next World Cup without playing the qualifying round. New Zealand, who also missed out on the Super 8s, also look set for automatic qualification as they sit in sixth place in the ICC rankings.
They are well ahead of other teams in contention, such as 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), United Arab Emirates (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).
