Which 8 teams have automatically qualified for T20 World Cup 2022?
West Indies failed to secure direct qualification for the Super 12 stage of the T20 World Cup 2022 in Australia. The development comes following their loss to Australia on Saturday evening in Abu Dhabi.
The ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2021 is nearing its business end with just three games left in the Super 12 stage. The International Cricket Council (ICC) has now announced which eight teams have secured direct qualification for the 2022 edition.
A report was posted on the official website of the T20 World Cup. According to that, eight teams from the Super 12s from the ongoing edition will qualify for the Super 12s next edition. These eight teams would include the winner and runner-up of the 2021 T20 World Cup. It will also include six other teams based on their ICC Men's T20I ranking as of the 15th of November.
It has been announced that those eight teams are hosts Australia, England, India, Pakistan, New Zealand, South Africa, Afghanistan and Bangladesh.
West Indies and Sri Lanka to play the First Round in 2022
According to the same report, West Indies' loss to Australia on Saturday confirmed that they would finish 10th in the rankings as on the aforementioned date. This also means that Bangladesh will rise to 8th position in the rankings. Thus, they secured direct entry into the Super 12s of the T20 World Cup 2022 in Australia.
West Indies entered the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2021 as the defending champions. However, they could only muster a solitary win out of five games, finishing fifth in Group 1 above Bangladesh.
Bangladesh's recently won home series over Australia and New Zealand. These wins have done enough to ensure they rise to number 8 in the Men's T20I rankings by the 15th of November. Thus, they will start directly in the Super 12s next year despite losing all of their games at the same stage in the ongoing competition.
Sri Lanka, on the other hand, came into the T20 World Cup having to play the first round to secure a spot in the Super 12s. Three consecutive victories in the first round saw them make it through to the next stage.
However, with just two wins out of five in the Super 12, they could not make further progress. They finished fourth in Group 1 ahead of the West Indies and Bangladesh. This means that they would finish 9th in the Men's T20I rankings as on November 15. Thus, they will have to play the First Round again in Australia next year.
Along with Sri Lanka and the West Indies, Namibia and Scotland will also play the first round of the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2022.
England and Australia have qualified for the semifinals of the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2021
Saturday's games saw Australia beat the West Indies by eight wickets in Abu Dhabi, before South Africa beat England by nine runs in Sharjah. The second of those results proved futile for South Africa as they were pipped by Australia to the semifinals based on net run-rate.
Defending 189, South Africa had to keep England below 131 in order to qualify for the semi-final. Their failure to do so meant that the win was all of a consolation, with Australia joining England as the semi-finalists from Group 1.
Sunday's contest between New Zealand and Afghanistan is a crucial one, with a win securing New Zealand's path through to the semi-finals. A win for Afghanistan, however, would knock New Zealand out and keep their hopes of making it to the semi-finals alive.
An Afghanistan win would also give India a chance at sealing their berth in the semi-finals, should they beat Namibia in their final Super 12 clash on Monday.