Australia and Afghanistan miss out on Super Eight berths in the ICC T20 World Cup

Australia and Afghanistan are the two biggest casualties of the ICC T20 World Cup in the group stages of the tournament. Australia, champions in the 2021 edition of the tournament in the UAE and Oman, have failed to make the grade this time around.  Afghanistan too failed to make it to the Super Eight stage of the tournament.

Australia: 2 points in Group B, +0.414 NRR

Australia’s troubled campaign ended with a whimper as Zimbabwe snatched the final qualification spot in Group B. Injury woes set the team back even before they arrived in India and Sri Lanka. However, it’s been a disastrous last few weeks for the 2021 winners, getting swept 3-0 by Pakistan before the T20 World Cup and now suffered defeats against Zimbabwe and Sri Lanka, putting their fate out of their hands. They will end the campaign with a match against Oman on Friday.

Afghanistan: 2 points in Group D, -0.215 NRR

The Group of Death was bound to have at least one full-member team eliminated in the group stage of the 2026 T20 World Cup. It turned out to be the 2024 World Cup semifinalists Afghanistan. Defeat to New Zealand and the agonizing super over loss to South Africa meant that the Afghans’ fate was no longer in their hand. With New Zealand beating Canada, the spirited Asian side are no longer in contention of Super 8.

The Group of Death was bound to have at least one full-member team eliminated in the group stage of the 2026 T20 World Cup. It turned out to be the 2024 World Cup semifinalists Afghanistan. Pics: icc-cricket.com

Italy: 2 points in Group C, -0.588 NRR

Italy qualified for a cricket World Cup, across formats, for the first time last year. The team that consists of players of Australian, South African, Pakistani, Sri Lankan and Indian heritage though put on a show. The loss to Scotland aside, Italy stormed past Nepal before running two-time winners England close. They finish a campaign, which has earned them many admirers, against West Indies.

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Namibia: 0 points in Group A, -2.443 NRR

Namibia have had their moments, like a promising start in the big run chase against the USA but have been unable to press on to victory. With defeats against USA, India and the Netherlands, they are set to exit after the group stage.

Oman: 0 points in Group B, -4.546 NRR

It has been another tough campaign for the Asian side. Placed in Group B, they began the tournament with an eight-wicket defeat to Zimbabwe, suffered a 105-run defeat and were outplayed by Ireland. They failed to win a single match during the 2024 T20 World Cup group stage too.

Nepal: 2 points in Group C, -1.349

Nepal started the tournament with much promise as they took former champions England to the brink. Chasing 184, the Asian team were within one shot of victory but finally ended at 180 for 6 in their 20 overs. After the bright start, Nepal have tapered off. They were handed a 10-wicket defeat by tournament debutants Italy. A loss against West Indies knocked them out of Super Eight contention. They scripted a long-awaited win over Scotland to finish their campaign on a high.

Scotland: 2 points in Group C, 0.184 NRR

Scotland were late entrants to this T20 World Cup as replacements for Bangladesh. They started their campaign with a 35-run defeat to the West Indies but bounced back with a commanding 73-run win over Italy. The five-wicket loss to England though meant their hopes of progressing hung by a thread. It all ended when England beat Italy.

Canada: 0 points in Group D, -1.865 NRR

A valiant and history-making century from Yuvraj Samra gave Canada some hope in their must-win match against New Zealand, but the Kiwis picked up an eight-wicket win. That loss meant that Canada’s campaign would end in the group stage of the tournament.

UAE: 2 points in Group D, -0.797 NRR

Group D’s top two teams were decided well before UAE could play their last match against South Africa. After losing to New Zealand in their opening match, they had raised hopes of a comeback with a five-wicket win over Canada before a narrow loss to Afghanistan ended their chances.

Ireland: 3 points in Group B, +0.150 NRR

Ireland’s only win in three matches came against Oman. They held on to a glimmer of a hope going into their final group match against Zimbabwe, but their campaign ended when the match was washed out, leaving them stranded at three points.