Oman to host ICC Men's T20 World Cup Asia and East Asia-Pacific qualifier

Dubai, July 10 (IANS) Oman will host the combined ICC Men’s T20 World Cup Asia and East Asia-Pacific Qualifier in October this year.

Nine teams will participate in the ICC Men's T20 World Cup Asia and East Asia-Pacific Qualifier.

The sub-regional qualifiers from 2024: Kuwait, Malaysia, UAE, Qatar, Japan and Samoa will join Nepal, Papua New Guinea and the hosts Oman to do battle for three spots at next year's ICC Men’s T20 World Cup.

Of these sides, Oman, Nepal, Papua New Guinea and UAE have featured in the Men’s T20 World Cup previously.

The tournament will be a 10-day affair, with a group stage that runs from October 8-10.

The nine teams are split into three groups of three, with the top two teams from each group progressing to the Super Six stage, which will be played from October 12-17.

At the end of the Super Six stage, the top three teams will earn their place in the Men’s T20 World Cup 2026, to be held in India and Sri Lanka.

Group 1 features UAE, Malaysia and Qatar, while Group 2 has Nepal and Kuwait along with East Asia-Pacific’s rising force Japan. The hosts, Oman, are in Group 3 along with Papua New Guinea and Samoa.

The East Asia-Pacific women’s beginning in their T20 World Cup 2026 path, meanwhile, has also been announced, through their qualifying event set to take place in September.

The ICC Women’s T20 World Cup EAP Qualifier will take place from September 9-15 and will be staged in Suva, Fiji. The hosts will welcome Vanuatu, Papua New Guinea, Indonesia, Japan, Samoa, Cook Islands and the Philippines for the qualifier.

Teams will be split into two groups of four before the final, where the winning team will qualify for the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup Global Qualifier.

--IANS

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