Much to everyone’s delight, The 2024 World Cup, which will be held in the West Indies and the United States, will feature a record 20 teams. The remaining eight spots will be filled through qualifying events, with twelve teams qualifying automatically. On Tuesday, the International Cricket Council (ICC) confirmed that the first qualifying event for the 2024 men’s T20 World Cup will be held in Europe in June. Here in this article, we have discussed the Men’s T20 World Cup 2024 qualifying rounds.
The first step in the qualifying procedure will be the sub-regional qualifiers, which will take place in 2022 and 2023. There will be 68 teams competing in ten events, with 16 African teams competing in two events, eight American teams competing in one event, nine Asian teams competing in two events, seven East Asian and Pacific (EAP) teams playing in two events, and 28 European teams competing in two events (three events). Beginning June 28, three sub-regional qualifications in Europe will be held over five weeks in Belgium and Finland.
In 2023, the top teams from sub-regional qualifiers will compete in five regional finals. From the two sub-regional qualifications in Africa, four athletes will proceed to the regional Africa finals, and two to the main event in 2024. The top three teams from the Americas sub-regional qualifiers will compete in the Americas regional finals alongside Canada for a place in the World Cup.
In the regional Asia finals, one team from each of the two Asia sub-regional qualifiers will fight against Bahrain, Nepal, and Oman for the two final berths in the main competition. The winners of each EAP sub-regional tournament will fight for a spot in the EAP regional finals, which will be held against the Philippines. Each of Europe’s three sub-regional winners will compete with Germany for the final two qualification spots in next year’s Europe regional finals.
The top eight teams from the 2022 men’s T20 World Cup, which will be contested in Australia in October-November, will occupy eight slots in terms of automatic qualification. The West Indies and the United States, which will host the event in 2024, will also gain automatic qualification.
The remaining two spots will be filled by the next two highest-ranked teams in the ICC T20 rankings as of November 14. The top three teams in the ICC rankings on the cut-off date will qualify if the West Indies finish in the top eight in this year’s World Cup.
It is great news as the number of teams competing in the tournament is increasing which is more inclusive and necessary for the rise of the sport. Until now, only the top 10 teams that are full-time members of ICC took part in the World Cup events. It will be the first time this many teams will be participating in the biggest T20 tournament in the world.
