Pakistan, New Zealand and England on brink of massive upset, might miss out on T20 World Cup 2026

The T20 World Cup 2024 in USA and West Indies has seen some huge upsets in the group stage already with USA shockingly beating Pakistan and New Zealand getting hammered by Afghanistan. Associate teams like Scotland and USA have surprised everyone and have a real shot at qualifying through the Super 8s. 

But their meteoric rise has meant that Paksitan, New Zealand and England are on the brink of facing an embarrassing early group stage exit. Not only would these teams miss out on the Super 8 but they can also miss out on T20 World Cup 2026. Here's how. 

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Pakistan, New Zealand and England might miss out on T20 World Cup 2026

Pakistan, New Zealand and England are on the brink of exiting the T20 World Cup 2024 in the group stages. If they fail to make the Super 8 then they can miss out on T20 World Cup 2026. 

This is according to the new ICC rules in which teams that qualify for the Super 8 will directly qualify into the next edition of T20 World Cup. The teams that fail to make it out of the group stages in this edition will have to play in the qualifiers to seal their spot in the next edition of T20 World Cup irrespective of their ICC rankings. 

Hence, it is all the more important for these 3 teams to qualify for the Super 8 and avoid playing the qualifiers. Here's how Pakistan, New Zealand and England can still qualify for the Super 8 in T20 World Cup. 

Pakistan Super 8 Qualification Scenario 

Pakistan currently lie fourth in Group A standings with 0 points after their first two games. India and USA occupy the top two spots in the group. 

Pakistan need to beat Canada and Ireland in their remaining two fixtures and hope that either of USA or India lose both their remaining fixtures. If this happens them also Pakistan will only reach 4 points and the equation will come to down to net run rate. India and USA are yet to face each other in New York, and if the match ends in a wash out due to forecasted rain then Pakistan will be knocked out. 

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New Zealand Super 8 Qualification Scenario 

New Zealand after their 84 run defeat are currently plum last in Group C with a net run rate of -4.2. Firstly, they need to beat West Indies, Uganda and Papua New Guinea by big margins and improve their net run rate as well as put 6 points on the board. West Indies and Afghanistan are yet to face each other, hence New Zealand need to hope West Indies lose against Afghanistan as well that way they can qualify via points. 

If New Zealand lose against West Indies then they will need Afghanistan to lose both their remaining games. If NZ win their remaining two games after that then only they can qualify with four points and that too via net run rate. 

England Super 8 Qualification Scenario 

England are perhaps the only team in this list who haven't had the best of lucks in the tournament. Their first game was washed out against Scotland and then they ended up losing to Australia. They sit at 4th spot in Group B with 5 points. 

England firstly need to defeat Oman and Namibia by big margins to improve their net run rate and take their points tally to five. Then they need to hope that Australia defeats Scotland by a big margin so England can qualify via net run rate. There is another scenario as well. If England reach 5 points then if Australia shockingly lose their final two games then England can qualify with 5 points as Australia are currently on 4.