The USA made history by advancing to the Super 8s round of the T20 World Cup 2024 in their first-ever appearance at the event. Monank Patel’s team had a double celebration because, by finishing among the top 8 teams in this edition of the major T20 competition, they also secured an automatic spot in the T20 World Cup 2026.
The 2026 T20 World Cup will be held in both India and Sri Lanka.
In 2024, the USA played in their first big ICC men’s cricket event because they were hosting the T20 World Cup. Few people thought the team, made up of people from other countries, would make it to the next stage in a group with past winners India and Pakistan, as well as Ireland, which plays Test cricket.
In their first match in Group A, held in Dallas, the USA team successfully reached a target of 195 runs against Canada, showing their strength early on. Later, they caused the biggest surprise of the tournament by defeating Pakistan in a dramatic Super Over in New York. Although they lost to India, they still managed to accumulate 5 points in 4 games. Their last match against Ireland in Florida was canceled due to rain, which worked in their favor.
How Did they qualify for 2026 T 20 World Cup?
Similar to the 2024 Men’s T20 World Cup, the 2026 tournament will also have 20 teams participating.
Twelve teams will qualify directly, and eight more will come through regional qualifying competitions.
The direct qualifiers include the host countries, India and Sri Lanka, plus the top eight teams from the 2024 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup who reach the Super 8s stage. These teams will also secure their spots for the 2026 event.
The International Cricket Council (ICC) says that the spots left (two to four, depending on how the hosts do) will be given to the next best teams on the ICC Men’s T20I rankings list by June 30, 2024.
Right now, there are three more spots that teams can get automatically because India moved on to the Super 8s, but Sri Lanka didn’t make it to the next round in the T20 World Cup 2024 happening in the USA and the West Indies.
For the USA, it’s been amazing. They’ve beaten the odds to move on to the next round and secure a spot in the next tournament. Cricket is expected to become more popular in America, which is the largest sports market in the world.
