Even before the conclusion of the ongoing T20 World Cup in Australia, the qualification process for the next edition of the global tournament is well underway. After visiting India for the ICC ODI World Cup in 2023, the action will shift to the Western Hemisphere in 2024, with West Indies and the United States of America jointly hosting the tournament – the first time that the United States will be hosting a global event in the game of cricket.
Let’s take a look at twelve teams that have already qualified for the T20 World Cup 2024, and the qualification path for the remaining teams.
T20 World Cup Format in 2024
The International Cricket Council, in its efforts to expand the game to more nations, has expanded the number of teams eligible to play in the upcoming T20 World Cup. Twenty nations will now participate in the tournament, grouped into four groups of five each. The ICC has also altered the format of the upcoming tournaments to allow a better chance for associate nations to create more upsets and make the tournament more exciting.
The top two teams in each group will then head to a Super 8 round, which will consist of two groups of four teams each. The top two teams from each group will then qualify for the semifinals. This means that a total of 55 fixtures will be played in total by the teams – ten more than the current T20 World Cup. Since the tournament features two round-robin stages, the chances of teams like India and Australia getting eliminated are even higher, especially with the increase in competition from associate nations.
Although this format allows for more teams to play in the tournament compared to the current T20 World Cup, it still falls short of the number truly required to expand the game across continents. The display of passion and skill levels shown by the associate nations in the ongoing tournament makes a strong case for the inclusion of even more teams – at least matching FIFA World Cup’s tally of 32 nations playing in the finals.
Qualification Process
West Indies and United States, on the virtue of being hosts, already secured a direct berth in the T20 World Cup. While this will be the first appearance for the United States in a major global tournament across formats, the West Indies will breathe a sigh of relief as it allows them time to solve their numerous troubles without worrying about the qualifying rounds.
Eight slots were allotted to the top eight performing teams in the group stages of the ongoing ICC T20 World Cup. New Zealand finished at the top of the table in Group A, followed by England, Australia and Sri Lanka. Group B saw a tighter contest than anyone predicted, with upset wins by Zimbabwe and the Netherlands completely changing the outcome of the group. India, Pakistan and South Africa will be joined by a surprise entrant – the Netherlands, who not only finished above Bangladesh in the group but also knocked South Africa out of the current World Cup.
Two spots are reserved for top-ranking teams in the ICC T20 team rankings as of November 14th – currently Bangladesh and Afghanistan. This means that 10 of the 12 nations with Test-playing status have already qualified for the event, with only Zimbabwe and Ireland missing out.
Qualification Path for Remaining Teams
The eight remaining spots in the 2024 T20 World Cup will now be filled by a qualification process that involves 66 nations from across continents. The qualifiers will be held on a continental basis – with two slots each for Africa, Asia and Europe and one slot each for the Americas and East Asia-Pacific regions.
The qualification rounds involve sub-regional groupings, with winners of each sub-region earning a spot in the regional finals alongside teams that participated in the current World Cup but did not qualify for the next one, namely the United Arab Emirates and Ireland.
The European qualifiers for the tournament are already underway – with Denmark, Italy and Austria joining Scotland and Ireland for the regional finals of the European Qualifiers next year. In the East Asia – Pacific region, Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu, the Philippines and Japan will participate in the regional finals – all four teams will be new entrants at the global event. The qualifiers for the remaining region are slated to start this month.
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