The ongoing ICC Men's T20 World Cup Asia & East Asia-Pacific (EAP) Qualifier 2025 in Oman serves as the final pathway to the ICC T20 World Cup 2026.
With the tournament split into two stages and formats, tracking how teams earn points can be tricky. With that, here's a breakdown of how the ICC Men's T20 World Cup Asia & East Asia-Pacific Qualifier 2025 works.
The qualifiers began with a group stage featuring nine teams, divided into three groups of three:
Group A: United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Malaysia
Group B: Nepal, Kuwait, Japan
Group C: Oman, Samoa, Papua New Guinea
Each team played two matches within their group, then the top two teams progressed to the Super Six stage. The third-placed sides -- Malaysia, Kuwait, and Papua New Guinea -- have been eliminated.
The Super Six stage introduced a more intricate format: teams carried forward points, but only from matches against other qualified teams within their initial groups.
And each team played three additional fixtures against opponents they hadn't yet faced.
Six teams qualified for Super Six
United Arab Emirates (Group A winners)
Nepal (Group B winners)
Oman (Group C winners)
Qatar (Group A runners-up)
Japan (Group B runners-up)
Samoa (Group C runners-up)
The top three teams will then earn qualification for the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2026, to be co-hosted by India and Sri Lanka. If teams finish level on points, net run rate will be used as the tiebreaker.
ICC T20 World Cup 2026 Qualification Explained
The top three teams will qualify for the 20-team ICC T20 World Cup 2026, scheduled for February 6 to March 8 next year, in India and Sri Lanka.
Seven top teams from the previous world (excluding co-hosts India and Sri Lanka) -- Afghanistan, Australia, Bangladesh, England, South Africa, the United States of America, and the West Indies, three teams via ICC rankings -- Ireland, New Zealand, and Pakistan -- have qualified.
Five more teams have also confirmed their Finals tickets via regional qualifiers - Canada (Americas), Italy and the Netherlands (Europe), and Namibia and Zimbabwe (Africa).
