Italy script history as they qualify for ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2026 in India and Sri Lanka

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Published at :July 11, 2025 at 11:54 PM

Modified at :July 11, 2025 at 11:54 PM

(Courtesy : ICC)

Italy will make their maiden appearance at an ICC event in ICC T20 World Cup 2026.

Italy made history by becoming the last European nation to qualify for the ICC T20 World Cup 2026. The Azzurri will compete in the tournament in India and Sri Lanka.

20 teams, including hosts India and Sri Lanka, will compete in the 2026 showcase. Afghanistan, Australia, Bangladesh, England, South Africa, the West Indies, and the United States are the other teams that have guaranteed automatic qualification; all of these teams advanced to the Super Eights round of the last edition of the tournament in 2024.

Furthermore, because of their T20I rankings, Pakistan, New Zealand, and Ireland also earned automatic qualification.

Italy qualify for ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026

Captain Joe Burns deserves a lot of credit for Italian cricket’s success. Burns, who played 23 tests for Australia, switched allegiance to Italy in 2024 via his grandparents. Since then, they have thrived under Burns.

In the Qualifiers, they defeated Guernsey and Scotland, while their match against Jersey was abandoned due to rain. They earned a World Cup spot by placing second in the ICC T20 World Cup Europe qualifiers. The Italian team qualified at the expense of Jersey, who were unable to qualify due to a lower Net Run Rate.

𝑮𝒍𝒐𝒓𝒚 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑨𝒛𝒛𝒖𝒓𝒓𝒊 🤩Italy will make their first-ever appearance in the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 🙌#T20WorldCup pic.twitter.com/sqN3ICFVfH
— ICC (@ICC) July 11, 2025

Despite losing their final qualification match against the Netherlands, the Joe Burns-led side has done enough to compete in the prestigious championship next year. Along with them, the Netherlands have also qualified for the ICC competition.

Italy became the 13th country to confirm qualifying, with the Netherlands coming in 14th, leaving six spaces open. The last berths will be chosen by regional qualification events, with two teams from Africa, one from the Americas, and three from Asia/East Asia-Pacific.

Teams who have participated in ICC T20 World Cups so far by region

Region	Countries
Europe	England, Ireland, Netherlands, Scotland, Italy
Asia	India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Hong Kong, Nepal, Oman, United Arab Emirates
Africa	South Africa, Zimbabwe, Kenya, Namibia, Uganda
Americas	West Indies, United States, Canada
Oceania	Australia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea

Where will the ICC T20 World Cup 2026 take place?

The ICC T20 World Cup will be played in India and Sri Lanka.

When will the ICC T20 World Cup 2026 take place?

The ICC T20 World Cup will be played in February 2026.

Which teams qualified for the ICC T20 World Cup 2026?

A total of 14 teams, as of 11th July 2025 – Afghanistan, Australia, Bangladesh, Canada, England, India, Ireland, New Zealand, Pakistan, South Africa, Sri Lanka, USA, West Indies, Italy, Netherlands – have qualified for the ICC T20 World Cup 2026.

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JNS

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