After advancing to the ‘Super 12’ stage of the ongoing T20 World Cup 2021, currently underway in Oman and the UAE, Bangladesh, Namibia, Scotland and Sri Lanka have also confirmed their spot for the Men’s T20 World Cup 2022, scheduled to be held in Australia.
Namibia, the story of Round 1, have qualified for the ‘Super 12s’ in their first ever T20 World Cup and will now return for the event in Australia in 12 months’ time. They are joined by Bangladesh, Scotland and Sri Lanka, confirming 12 out of the 16 spots for the World Cup.
Afghanistan, England, India, New Zealand, Pakistan, South Africa, West Indies and hosts Australia, had already qualified for the 2022 showpiece, gaining direct entry to the Super 12 of the Men’s T20 World Cup 2021 by virtue of being inside the top-eight on the Men’s T20 Rankings at the cut-off prior to the postponed 2020 event.
The four remaining spots will be filled via the ongoing qualification pathway taking place across the five regions, culminating in two global qualifying tournaments in early 2022, the International Cricket Council (ICC) said in a statement late on Sunday.
Commenting on the development, ICC Head of Events, Chris Tetley said: “We have already seen some incredibly competitive cricket in round one of the Men’s T20 World Cup culminating in Bangladesh, Namibia, Scotland and Sri Lanka taking their positions in the Super 12s and therefore qualifying for Australia 2022.”
“Namibia and Scotland in particular have provided us with some great stories over the past two weeks reinforcing T20 cricket as the global growth vehicle of the sport. We look forward to seeing which four teams will secure the remaining spots for Australia 2022 through the two global qualifiers next year,” he added.
On the other hand, ICC Men’s T20 World Cup Local Organising Committee CEO, Michelle Enright said: “We congratulate Bangladesh, Namibia, Scotland and Sri Lanka on qualifying for the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2022 in Australia. We can’t wait to welcome all the teams and their fans for an unmissable celebration of cricket and culture this time next year.”
“We will be following the upcoming global qualifying events with interest to see who can make it through to claim the final four places at next year’s event,” he added.
“For the 12 automatic qualifiers there is still plenty to play for in this tournament in terms of Australia 2022. Teams can secure their spot in the Australia 2022 Super 12s, by finishing as either winner or runner up of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2021 or as one of the next six highest ranked teams (as of November 15, 2021),” the ICC statement read further.
The ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2022 will be the biggest global sporting event to be hosted in Australia as it will witness 16 teams, which will play 45 matches around the country.
In the ongoing edition of the showpiece event, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka are placed in the Group 1 of the Super 12 along with England, Australia, South Africa and defending champions West Indies.
Namibia and Scotland on the other hand, are placed in Group 2 along with India, New Zealand, Afghanistan and Pakistan.