India, Sri Lanka confirmed as co-hosts of T20 World Cup 2026, qualification process approved

India and Sri Lanka will co-host the ICC Men???s T20 World Cup 2026, according to reports. While the cricketing fraternity is currently focusing on the upcoming T20 World Cup this year, the governing body of the game has started preparing for the next edition of the competition as well.

As per reports, the ICC approved India and Sri Lanka as the co-hosts during its board meeting in Dubai this week. The apex body of the game has also the qualification process for the T20 World Cup 2026. Just like the 2024 edition, a total of 20 teams will participate in the 2026 edition.

The tournament will have a total of 12 automatic qualifiers while the remaining eight teams will have to qualify through regional qualifiers. For the 2024 edition, the top eight teams from the 2022 edition and the two co-hosts qualified automatically for the tournament. The remaining two automatic qualification places were taken by the best-ranked teams in the ICC Men???s T20I Team Rankings.

For the eight remaining spots, ICC???s regional qualifiers were considered. Two teams from Africa, Asia, and Europe, along with one team each from the Americas and the East Asia-Pacific groups made it to the 2024 T20 World Cup.

T20 World Cup 2026 qualification:

If co-hosts India and Sri Lanka finish in the top 8 of the 2024 T20 World Cup, six other teams will qualify for the T20 World Cup 2026. In case, the co-hosts fail to finish in the top 8, they will qualify along with teams finishing in the top eight positions.

If the co-hosts finish in the top eight, four teams will be picked based on ICC rankings as of June 30, 2024 otherwise, two teams will be picked.

ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2026 will be held in India and Sri Lanka. This event will see 12 automatic qualifiers, including the joint hosts along with the top eight teams from the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2024.

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Both India and Sri Lanka have hosted the T20 World Cup in the past. In 2012, Sri Lanka became the first Asian country to host the T20 World Cup. Four years later, India hosted the tournament. In 2011, both countries had also co-hosted the ODI World Cup.

Meanwhile, ICC T20 World Cup 2024 is scheduled to be played from June 1 to 29. The ICC has confirmed that the upcoming tournament will have reserve days scheduled for the semi-finals and finals.