So after a short interval of a year, the T20 World Cup is back, and this time it promises to be better than ever with some really interesting storylines. The latest edition of the tournament will be held in Australia, where the hosts will be looking to defend their crown after winning it for the very first time since it’s inception in 2007. Trying to usurp the Aussies will be perrenial cricket powerhouses in India, England, Pakistan, and South Africa. Each side have a sub-plot of their own. While India will be looking to avoid a repeat of the embarassment of last year, England will be wanting to cement the claim of having the strongest T20 squad in the world. Add to that a resurgent South Africa and the ever-consistent New Zealand, and we find ourselves with a huge contest. And that is not including the giant-killers in the form of Bangladesh and Afghanistan.
However, these will not be the only teams that will be contesting. The 2022 edition will have 16 teams participating in the tournament. However, not all of them will be competing for the biggest prize of them all. So how does this work? And why the likes of Sri Lanka and West Indies, who have been T20 champions in the recent past not been mentioned yet?
Well, the reason is the latest format that the ICC has introduced, which ensures fair participations. So based on the performances in the last T20 World Cup, as well as the rankings post that, the top 8 teams were automatically guaranteed a spot in this year’s Super 12 stage. Those countries are: India, Australia, Bangladesh, South Africa, England, New Zealand, Afghanistan, and Pakistan.
The remaining 4 teams: Sri Lanka, West Indies, Namibia, and Scotland find themselves in the group stages of the competition, which also doubles as a qualifying tournament for the Super 12 stage of the competition. The other 4 places were kept for the teams who came through a gruelling global qualifying campaign, which was a 16-team tournament itself, that saw the likes of Ireland, Zimbabwe, and the Netherlands rub shoulders with the likes of the USA, Papua New Guinea and so on. The 4 teams who finally made their way into the group stages were Zimbabwe, Netherlands, Ireland and UAE.
Now these 8 teams who are part of the group stage will be divided into two groups of 4, and will engage in a battle to make the top-2 spots of their groups. While Namibia, Sri Lanka, Netherlands and UAE consist of Group A; West Indies, Ireland, Zimbabwe and Scotland make up group B. The 4 best teams from both groups will make their way to the Super 12, where they will commence the actual battle for global supremacy. The winners of Group A and the runners up of Group B of the qualifiers will make their way to Group A of the super 12, while the winners of Group B and the runners up of Group A will make their way to Group B.
