Teams which have already Qualified – 12 teams have already secured their spots for the 2028 tournament based on their performance in the 2026 T20 World Cup and team rankings: Afghanistan, Australia, Bangladesh, England, India, Ireland, New Zealand, Pakistan, South Africa, Sri Lanka, West Indies, and Zimbabwe.
The Global Qualifier – The remaining eight spots at the 2028 T20 World Cup will be filled through a 16-team Global Qualifier competition.
Eight teams that competed in the 2026 edition but did not earn automatic qualification will advance directly to a 16-team Global Qualifier. These are: Canada, Italy, Namibia, Nepal, Netherlands, Oman, United Arab Emirates and United States
• Special Case: Scotland receives direct entry into the Europe Regional Final, and not the Globlal Qualifier, due to exceptional circumstances surrounding their participation in 2026.
The remaining eight spots in the Global Qualifier will be filled via regional qualifiers
• Africa – 2 spots
• Asia – 2 spots
• Europe – 2 spots
• Americas – 1 spot
• East-Asia Pacific – 1 spot
The highest placed team from each region at the Global Qualifier, together with the next three highest-placed teams overall, will qualify for the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2028, subject to a minimum performance criteria.
This new marquee tournament has been endorsed by the Board after being recommended by the ICC Development and Chief Executives’ Committees. However, it will be finally approved by the Board after review by ICC’s Finance & Commercial Affairs committee in the November meetings
