2022 T20 World Cup: ICC announces qualification pathway with 86 teams set to fight for 15 spots

2022 T20 World Cup: ICC announces qualification pathway with 86 teams set to fight for 15 spots
T20 World Cup trophy

The International Cricket Council (ICC) announced in a statement today the qualification process for the 2022 T20 World Cup which is set to be held in Australia. The tournament will consist of 15 teams and spots for which 86 teams will compete in the qualifiers that will happen over 13 months consisting of 225 matches. The qualifying process is set to start in April with several qualification tournaments by region scheduled.

There are various countries which will be taking part in the qualification process for the first time ever. The likes of Hungary, Romania and Serbia will take the cricket field for the first time in a T20 World Cup qualifier. Other countries which have never hosted ICC matches will do so for the first time such as Finland and Japan.

‘The pathway highlights the increased competitiveness within associate members’

ICC

The ICC released a statement announcing the new pathway through their head of events, Chris Tetley saying, “The pathway sees the likes of Hungary, Romania and Serbia competing for the first time in an ICC event of this format, highlighting the increased competitiveness within associate members.”

“The 16 teams that had originally qualified for the 2020 Australia event will now play in the T20 World Cup 2021 in India. The participating teams for that event are Australia, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, England, India, Ireland, Namibia, Netherlands, New Zealand, Oman, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Scotland, South Africa, Sri Lanka and West Indies,” the statement added.

All of the already undertaken plans and matches will however, be subject to change depending on the COVID-19 situation in each venue.

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