UAE Secure Final Qualification Spot for 2026 T20 World Cup

With an emphatic victory over Japan in the Asia-EAP Qualifier tournament, UAE has secured a final spot in the upcoming T20 World Cup in 2026. They defeated Japan by eight wickets to book a confirmed place in next year’s tournament. Besides UAE, Nepal and Oman have also qualified for the tournament that is scheduled in India and Sri Lanka next year.

Coming out to bat, Japan managed to score only 117 runs in the first. Their batting never looked in control throughout the innings, as Haider Ali and other UAE bowlers kept exposing their technical problems by taking regular wickets. Haider Ali remained the star bowler for the UAE, as he picked 3 wickets while giving away just 20 runs in the first innings.

The chase of 117 proved relatively easy for the UAE in the second innings. The opening duo of Alishan Sharafu and Muhammad Waseem made things easy for the UAE by building a strong partnership at the top. Due to this, UAE chased the target easily while losing just 2 wickets. With this win, they booked their spot in the next year’s T20 World Cup alongside Nepal and Oman from Asia.

Apart from event hosts India and Sri Lanka, the top seven teams from the 2024 T20 World Cup have automatically qualified for the mega tournament. These teams include Afghanistan, Australia, Bangladesh, England, South Africa, United States of America and West Indies.

The other three teams that have also qualified for the tournament include New Zealand, Pakistan and Ireland. These teams didn’t have a great outing in last year’s T20 World Cup, however, they still managed to qualify for next year’s tournament based on their position in the global T20I rankings.