Men's T20 World Cup 2026: Only three qualification spots remain for global tournament in India and Sri Lanka next year

Super Six heats up at Asia/EAP T20 World Cup Qualifiers 

After Namibia and Zimbabwe secured their qualification to the 2026 Men's T20 World Cup through the Africa qualifiers at the start of October, nine teams were left to battle it out for the remaining three spots for the tournament at the Asia/EAP T20 World Cup Qualifiers in Oman. 

On Friday last week, three of those teams' hopes of featuring in next year’s global event in India and Sri Lanka were brought to an end, with Kuwait, Malaysia and Papua New Guinea suffering elimination after finishing bottom of their groups in the first round of qualifying.

Hosts Oman, along with the United Arab Emirates and Nepal, ended their groups top of the table and unbeaten, which sees them carry forward a win to the Super Six by virtue of beating the second-placed teams in their respective sections. 

One team that has caught the eye and defied the betting odds during the group stage is Japan, who eliminated the Kuwaitis by producing what was arguably their greatest chase on the global stage of 178/5 to clinch a five-wicket victory. 

Alongside the group winners, Japan, Samoa and Qatar are the other three teams that have entered the Super Six, and Oman and Nepal are now the clear favourites to secure two of the three qualification spots after winning their first match in this section. 

Oman beat Qatar by 34 runs in their opening match of the Super Six on Sunday morning, with Jatinder Singh leading the charge with 66 runs off 40 deliveries, while Nepal won a cliffhanger by a single run against the UAE a few hours later. 

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Asia/EAP T20 World Cup Qualifiers Super Six Standings 

Oman and Nepal now lead the Super Six standings with four points apiece, but the tournament hosts have the upper hand, thanks to their superior net run rate of 1.493 compared to the Rhinos’ 0.408.

Despite losing their opener, the United Arab Emirates are still in third place with two points, but Japan are now right on their tails after beating Samoa on Sunday evening. Oman and the UAE will face off on Monday, so be sure to check out our cricket predictions for all the insights ahead of the toss. 

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