The 2028 ICC Men's T20 World Cup will be the eleventh edition of the ICC Men's T20 World Cup, a biennial world cup for cricket in Twenty20 International (T20I) format, organised by the International Cricket Council (ICC). It will be co-hosted by Cricket Australia and New Zealand Cricket from 21 October to 19 November 2028. It will be the first time for New Zealand to host the event, while Australia had previously hosted the competition in 2022.
In July 2026, the ICC confirmed the qualification process with the reintroduction of the Men's T20 World Cup Global Qualifier which served as the third stage of the qualification pathway until 2022. The qualification process for the 2028 tournament includes three stages: direct qualification, regional qualification and a Global Qualifier.
Format The qualification process for the 2028 Men's T20 World Cup is held in three stages: Direct qualification: The top eight teams from the previous edition along with the 2028 hosts and the next best two to four teams (depending on the finishing positions of the hosts in the previous edition) from the ICC Men's T20I Team Rankings qualify directly for the tournament. Regional qualification: The regional qualifiers for each ICC region were held two stages: Sub-regional qualifiers: This stage comprised one or more tournaments depending on the ICC region. Matches were held in either single round-robin or double round-robin format and sometimes included group stage and knockout stage or playoffs formats as well. The stipulated number of teams advanced into the next stage. Regional final: Teams advancing from the sub-regional qualifier took part in this stage. Matches were held in either single round-robin or double round-robin format and sometimes included group stage and knockout stage or playoffs formats as well. The stipulated number of teams advanced to the Global Qualifier. Global Qualifier: Top teams unable to earn direct qualification along with teams advancing from the regional finals took part in this stage. The highest-placed team from each region along with the next three highest-placed teams will advance to the 2028 T20 World Cup.
+ Summary of qualification for the Global Qualifier ICC region Global Qualifier Regional qualifiers Slots per region No. of directly qualified teams Remaining slots No. of participants Start date End date Africa 3 1 2 19 24 March 2026 Americas 3 2 1 9 8 March 2026 Asia 5 3 2 13 3 October 2026 East Asia-Pacific 1 0 1 9 8 May 2026 Europe 4 2 2 30 16 May 2026 Total 16 8 8 80
Qualified teams
Australia and New Zealand qualify automatically as hosts, along with the teams that reached the Super 8 stage of the previous T20 World Cup and the next three top-ranked teams in the ICC Rankings after the completion of the tournament. The remaining slots will be filled by global qualifier.
+ Details of the teams qualified for the 2028 T20 World Cup Team Method of qualification Date of qualification Venue(s) Number of teams Total times qualified Last time qualified Previous best performance Hosts rowspan=2 2 11 2026 Winners (2021) 11 2026 Runners-up (2021, 2026) 2026 ICC Men's T20 World Cup(Top teams from the previous tournament, excluding the hosts) 20 February 2026 7 11 2026 Winners (2010, 2022) 11 2026 11 2026 Winners (2009) 11 2026 Runners-up (2024) 11 2026 Winners (2014) 11 2026 Winners (2012, 2016) 8 2026 Super 8 (2026) ICC Men's T20I Team Rankings 9 March 2026 rowspan="3" 3 9 2026 Semi-finals (2024) 10 2026 Super 8 (2007, 2024) 9 2026 Super 8 (2009) Global Qualifier 8 Total 20
Africa qualifier The qualification stages are as follows: Qualifier A: Seven teams played round-robin format for 21 matches from 22 May to 1 June 2026 in Botswana. Qualifier B: Six teams played round-robin format in 15 matches from 24 to 29 March 2026 in Ghana. Qualifier C: Six teams to play in round-robin format for 15 matches in October 2026 in Nigeria. Regional final: TBA
Africa sub-regional qualifiers The sub-regional qualifiers were hosted by the Botswana Cricket Association, the Ghana Cricket Association and the Nigeria Cricket Federation. The top two sides of each sub-regional qualifier (Kenya and Rwanda from qualifier A, Ghana and Tanzania from qualifier B and TBD from qualifier C) advanced to the regional final.
Africa qualifier A
Africa qualifier B
Africa qualifier C
Africa regional final
The regional final will be hosted by TBA. The top two sides of the regional final will advance to the Global Qualifier.
Americas qualifier The qualification stages are as follows: Qualifier A: Five teams to play in round-robin format for 10 matches from 19 to 28 June 2026 in Bermuda. Qualifier B: Four teams played double round-robin format in 12 matches from 8 to 15 March 2026 in Cayman Islands. Regional final: TBA
Americas sub-regional qualifiers The sub-regional qualifiers will be hosted by Bermuda Cricket Board and Cayman Islands Cricket Association. The top sides of each sub-regional qualifier will advance to the regional final.
Americas qualifier A
Americas qualifier B
Americas regional final
The winner of the regional final will qualify for the 2028 T20 World Cup Global Qualifier.
Asia qualifier The qualification stages are as follows: Qualifier A: Seven teams played in round-robin format for 21 matches from 5 to 14 October 2026 in Malaysia.
Qualifier B: Six teams played in round-robin format for 15 matches from 8 to 14 October 2026 in Malaysia.
Regional final: TBA
Asia sub-regional qualifiers Asia qualifier A
Asia qualifier B
East Asia-Pacific qualifier The qualification stages are as follows: Sub-regional qualifier: Nine teams were divided into three groups, followed by a six-team round-robin stage, for a total of 21 matches played from 8 to 18 May 2026 in Japan. Regional final: TBA
East Asia-Pacific sub-regional qualifier
Nine teams were divided into three groups, followed by a six-team round-robin stage, for a total of 21 matches played from 8 to 18 May 2026 in Japan. The tournament was hosted by Japan with the winner advancing to the global qualifier.
Group stage Group A
Group B
Group C
Super six stage
East Asia-Pacific regional final
The winner of the regional final will advance to the Global Qualifier.
Europe qualifier The qualification stages are as follows: Qualifier A: Ten teams divided into two groups of five played round-robin format followed by playoffs for a total of 24 matches from 16 to 23 May 2026 in Cyprus.
Qualifier B: Nine teams divided into two groups played round-robin format followed by playoffs for a total of 20 matches from 8 to 15 July 2026 in Denmark. Qualifier C: Ten teams divided into two groups of five played round-robin format followed by playoffs for a total of 24 matches from 14 to 21 August 2026 in Finland. Regional final: Six teams will play in round-robin format for 15 matches in 2027.
Europe sub-regional qualifiers The sub-regional qualifiers were hosted by Cyprus Cricket Association, Danish Cricket Federation and Cricket Finland. The top sides of each sub-regional qualifier will advance to the regional final.
Europe qualifier A
Group stage
Qualifier A final Jersey defeated Guernsey by 4 wickets.
Europe qualifier B
Group stage
Qualifier B final Denmark defeated Romania by 6 runs.
Europe qualifier C
Group stage
Qualifier C final Portugal defeated Spain by 57 runs. Europe regional final
Scotland qualified directly for the regional final after receiving a bye due to their participation in the 2026 T20 World Cup. However, they did not receive a bye to the global qualifier, as they had participated in the previous tournament as a replacement team. The top two teams from the regional final will qualify for the 2028 T20 World Cup Global Qualifier.
Global qualifier
+ Team Method of qualification Date of qualification Venue(s) Number of teams 2026 T20 World Cup 8 Africa Qualifier 2 Americas Qualifier 1 Asia Qualifier 2 1 Europe Qualifier 2 Total 16
References