KATHMANDU: The biggest ICC Men’s T20 World Cup in history will include more teams and more matches than ever before.
For the first time, 20 nations will take to the stage and battle for world glory in the United States and West Indies across 55 matches and four weeks of thrilling action.
You may be familiar with the teams but here is a refresher on how they got here.
The hosts
West Indies and USA earned automatic entry as the host nations, with the latter set to play in the tournament for the first time.
Two-time winners West Indies will host the competition for the second time after staging the 2010 showpiece which saw England beat Australia in the final.
Just as in 2010, the Kensington Oval in Bridgetown, Barbados, will host this year’s final.
Top eight from 2022
The top eight teams from the last ICC Men’s T20 World Cup all ensured automatic qualification to the tournament’s ninth edition.
In Australia, England recorded their second triumph as Ben Stokes steered his side to victory with the bat after Player of the Tournament Sam Curran helped restrict runners-up Pakistan to 137 in the final.
Beaten semi-finalists India and New Zealand also secured entry for 2024. India will be looking to build on their 50-over triumph last year while the Black Caps will be hoping to add their name to the trophy for the first time.
The sides which finished third and fourth in the Super 12 groups also achieved qualification. Those four teams are former winners Australia and Sri Lanka, two-time semi-finalists South Africa, and Netherlands, who achieved their best T20 World Cup finish last time round.
Team rankings
Afghanistan and Bangladesh are included due to their status as the next two highest teams in the T20I rankings.
The Tigers came close to a couple of shock victories last time out and will be hoping to build on that, while the likes of Rashid Khan and Qais Ahmad will be tapping into their experiences in the US franchise tournament, Major League Cricket, to aid their team’s cause.
The qualifiers
The remaining eight spots were determined by regional qualifiers with Ireland and Scotland coming through the European section.
Scotland hosted the regional finals in July 2023 and powered through the group stages unbeaten, joined by Ireland thanks in no small part to a crucial seven run victory over Italy.
The East Asia-Pacific qualifiers took place at the same time and Papua New Guinea also recorded a perfect run to reach their second T20 World Cup.
Canada emerged from the Americas qualifier, sneaking past Bermuda on net run rate to reach the main event for the first time.
Nepal and Oman qualified in Asia, defeating UAE and Bahrain respectively in the last four before sharing a thrilling final which Oman claimed after a Super Over.
The final country to secure their place in the 20-team line-up was Uganda. The Cricket Cranes usurped regional powerhouse Zimbabwe for their first-ever T20I win over a full-member team en route to their first T20 World Cup.
Namibia were the other side to qualify from the Africa Qualifier, having previously played in the 2021 and 2022 editions.
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