Afghanistan, Bangladesh seal Super 12 berth for next T20 World Cup; Sri Lanka, Windies to play qualifiers

The Super 12 berths for the 2022 ICC T20 World Cup were confirmed on Saturday, with Afghanistan and Bangladesh sealing their place, while Sri Lanka and Windies will have to go through Qualifiers.

The ICC T20 World Cup 2021 is currently happening in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and is nearly done with the Super 12 stage, with the qualifiers for the semis almost finalised. As a result, the teams to participate in the Super 12 stage of the next edition, to be held next year (2022), have also been finalised.

Based on the current ICC T20I Rankings, Afghanistan and Bangladesh have sealed their berth for the next edition in Australia. However, former champion Sri Lanka and defending Windies have failed to earn a direct entry into the Super 12 due to their poor rankings for underperformance in the competition this term and will have to go through the Qualifiers.

As per the existing International Cricket Council (ICC) rules, the winner and runner-up, along with the six top-ranked sides, earn direct entry into the tournament. Therefore, based on the current competition's performance and the rankings, England, Pakistan, India, New Zealand, South Africa, and Australia are the ones who have sealed their Super 12s berth, having done enough until the cut-off date of November 15.

Windies has slipped to tenth after its loss to Australia on Saturday, while Lanka is on ninth. Along with them, Namibia and Scotland will also be featuring in the Qualifiers next year. On the other hand, Bangladesh has climbed to eighth, along with Afghanistan at seventh.