The T20 World Cup 2026 will begin in February, to be co-hosted by India and Sri Lanka.
The Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 Africa regional final qualifier began on Friday, September 26. The top two teams from the eight-team tournament, Namibia and Zimbabwe, secured qualification for the mega event next year.
Zimbabwe outclassed Namibia by seven wickets in the contest between the two finalists. Kenya took third place after they bundled out Tanzania for 91 runs. A 66 off 30 knock from captain Riazat Ali Shah took Uganda to fifth place after another thrashing win against Namibia. Malawi humbled Botswana to take the last two spots.
After staying unbeaten in three league games, Namibia faced Tanzania in the first Semi-Final. Batting first, they posted a comfortable 174/6 on the board. JJ Smit (61* off 43) and Captain Gerhard Erasmus (55 off 41) were the top scorers with a half-century each. Smit continued his purple patch, scalping three wickets in the second innings. Amal Rajeevan was unbeaten at 16, while Tanzania ran out of balls to chase. They managed 111/8 in 20 overs, with Abhik Patwa as the top-scorer after a run-a-ball 31.
This will be Namibia’s fourth-straight appearance in the T20 World Cup. They had qualified in 2021, 2022, and 2024 as well under the same leadership of Erasmus.
Zimbabwe also won over Kenya to book their seat for the ICC event. Batting first, Rakep Patel’s 65-run knock helped Kenya post 122/6. Coming on the back of a glorious hundred, Brian Bennett struck a half-century with a 204 strike rate. The youngster set the stage for Zimbabwe’s win as the team chased the target in 15 overs.
It will be the side’s seventh T20 World Cup appearance.
On the other hand, Nigeria beat Botswana by 44 runs in the 5th Place Play-off first Semi-Final. Meanwhile, Uganda castled Malawi for a 117-run win.
The 2026 T20I World Cup will feature 20 teams. India and Sri Lanka are already qualified as hosts of the tournament. The top seven teams from the last World Cup, apart from the hosts, are also through. They are Afghanistan, Australia, Bangladesh, England, South Africa, the USA, and the West Indies.
Based on the ICC T20I rankings, Ireland, New Zealand, and Pakistan have also secured their spots. Canada qualified from the Americas qualifier, while Italy and the Netherlands made it from Europe. Three more teams will qualify from the Asia EAP qualifier, alongside Zimbabwe and Namibia from the Africa qualifier.
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Day 1 of the T20 World Cup 2026 Africa Qualifier saw some big results. Namibia dominated Kenya, winning by 136 runs after posting 241/5 and bowling Kenya out for 105/7.
Nigeria comfortably beat Malawi by nine wickets, with Malawi scoring 88. Zimbabwe chased down Uganda’s total of 152/9 to win by seven wickets. Tanzania also wrapped up the day with a seven-wicket victory over Botswana, who managed 122/6.
After putting up a 200+ total, Namibia crushed Nigeria to win by a mammoth 117 runs. Meanwhile, Malawi stole a close three-run win against Kenya.
After a neck-and-neck battle, Tanzania won by a meagre nine runs to break Uganda’s 17-win streak. Zimbabwe also clinched two points as they outclassed Botswana to win by 170 runs.
As it stands, even if Tanzania lose their final group game against Zimbabwe, they’ve already secured a semi-final spot, where they’ll likely face Namibia. Thus, Tanzania are now just one win away from qualifying for the World Cup. Remarkably, this comes in the same year their U-19 team made its debut qualification for the U-19 World Cup.
The Gerhard Erasmus-led Namibia skittled out Malawi for 71 runs for an eight-wicket win to continue their unbeaten streak. Meanwhile, Kenya surprised Nigeria as they chased down 148 in 14 overs. Sachin Bhudia’s unbeaten 57 off 29 and Rakep Patel’s 38-ball 53 helped Kenya register their first win of the tournament.
The Group B proceedings followed a similar pattern. Zimbabwe posted the tournament’s third 200+ total on the back of Brian Bennett’s 111. Tanzania could manage to score just half of the runs, as they were all out for 108 with eight balls to spare. Uganda’s first win came in a low-scoring clash against Botswana, as they completed the chase of 82 runs in 13 overs.
| Teams | Matches | Won | Lost | N/R | Points | NRR |
| Namibia | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 6 | +6.556 |
| Kenya | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | -1.553 |
| Nigeria | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | -1.822 |
| Malawi | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | -2.613 |
| Teams | Matches | Won | Lost | N/R | Points | NRR |
| Zimbabwe | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 6 | +5.262 |
| Tanzania | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 4 | -1.013 |
| Uganda | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | +0.394 |
| Botswana | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | -5.198 |
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