How India and Pakistan can qualify for Super 8 stage:Australia face tricky road, South Africa and New Zealand in ‘Group of Death’

The much-awaited T20 World Cup 2026 will kick off on 7 February, with the tournament’s first match played between Pakistan and the Netherlands in Sri Lanka. A total of 20 teams are participating in this mega event, divided into four different groups. The tournament can witness history, with title holders India gunning to defend their title. Alongside India in Group A are Pakistan, the USA, Namibia and the Netherlands. However, Group D might just be called the ‘Group of Death’ having teams like South Africa, New Zealand and Afghanistan. In this story, we will analyze all the groups of the tournament Group A: How can India and Pakistan qualify for Super 8? As mentioned before, Group A includes arch-rivals India and Pakistan along with the Netherlands, the USA, and Namibia. India are hot favourites to go through to the Super 8 from this stage alongside Pakistan. But it has to be kept in mind that the India vs Pakistan match on 15 February is uncertain at the moment after the Government of Pakistan instructed the team to boycott the game. At the time of writing this story, the International Cricket Council has not yet given a final verdict on this issue. While India and Pakistan are firm favourites, one cannot look past the fact that the USA had created the biggest upset of the tournament by defeating Pakistan in the last T20 World Cup. The Monank Patel-led side had defeated 2009 champions Pakistan in a Super Over and made it to the Super 8 stage. For Pakistan to qualify, they have to defeat the USA, Namibia and the Netherlands while uncertainty prevails over their game against India. Both India and Pakistan, however, won’t take any team lightly in Group A. All squads of Group A teams: India: Suryakumar Yadav (Captain), Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma, Sanju Samson, Shivam Dube, Ishan Kishan, Hardik Pandya, Arshdeep Singh, Jasprit Bumrah, Harshit Rana, Varun Chakaravarthy, Kuldeep Yadav, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar and Rinku Singh. Pakistan: Salman Ali Agha (Captain), Abrar Ahmed, Babar Azam, Faheem Ashraf, Fakhar Zaman, Khawaja Mohammad Nafe, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Salman Mirza, Naseem Shah, Sahibzada Farhan, Saim Ayub, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Shadab Khan, Usman Khan and Usman Tariq. USA: Monank Patel (Captain), Jessy Singh (Vice-Captain), Andries Gous, Shehan Jayasuriya, Milind Kumar, Shayan Jahangir, Saiteja Mukkamalla, Sanjay Krishnamurthi, Harmeet Singh, Nosthush Kenjige, Shadley van Schalkwyk, Saurabh Netravalkar, Ali Khan, Mohammad Mohsin and Shubham Ranjane. Netherlands: Scott Edwards (captain), Colin Ackermann, Noah Croes, Bas de Leede, Aryan Dutt, Fred Klaassen, Kyle Klein, Michael Levitt, Zach Lion-Cachet, Max O’Dowd, Logan van Beek, Tim van der Gugten, Roelof van der Merwe, Paul van Meekeren and Saqib Zulfiqar. Namibia: Gerhard Erasmus (captain), Zane Green, Bernard Scholtz, Ruben Trumpelmann, JJ Smit, Jan Frylinck, Lohan Louwrens, Malan Kruger, Nicol Loftie-Eaton, Jack Brassell, Ben Shikongo, Jesse Balt, Dylan Leicher, WP Myburgh and Max Hango. Group B: Australia, Sri Lanka in tricky group Group B includes Australia, Sri Lanka, Ireland, Oman, and Zimbabwe. Australia and Sri Lanka are expected to qualify for the Super 8 but again, no team can be taken lightly, especially in a format like the T20, which has produced surprises before. Australia are known for performing consistently in World Cups and one can expect the T20 World Cup to be no different. Additionally, teams like Ireland, Oman, and Zimbabwe are also in this group. Ireland has surprised big teams before, while emerging teams like Oman and Zimbabwe are rapidly improving their performance in the shorter format. All squads of Group B teams: Australia: Mitchell Marsh (Captain), Xavier Bartlett, Cooper Connolly, Tim David, Ben Dwarshuis, Cameron Green, Nathan Ellis, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Matthew Kuhnemann, Glenn Maxwell, Matt Renshaw, Marcus Stoinis and Adam Zampa. Sri Lanka: Dasun Shanaka (Captain), Pathum Nissanka, Kamil Mishara, Kusal Mendis, Kusal Perera, Charith Asalanka, Kamindu Mendis, Janith Liyanage, Pawan Ratnayake, Dunith Wellalage, Wanindu Hasaranga, Maheesh Theekshana, Dushmantha Chameera, Matheesha Pathirana and Ishan Malinga. Ireland: Paul Stirling (Captain), Mark Adair, Ross Adair, Ben Calitz, Curtis Campher, Gareth Delany, George Dockrell, Matthew Humphreys, Josh Little, Barry McCarthy, Harry Tector, Tim Tector, Lorcan Tucker, Ben White and Craig Young. Zimbabwe: Sikandar Raza (Captain), Brian Bennett, Ryan Burl, Graeme Cremer, Bradley Evans, Clive Madande, Tinotenda Maposa, Tadwanashe Marumani, Wellington Masakadza, Tony Munyonga, Tashinga Musekiwa, Blessing Muzarabani, Dion Myers, Richard Ngarava and Brendan Taylor. Oman: Jatinder Singh (Captain), Vinayak Shukla, Mohammad Nadeem, Shakeel Ahmed, Hammad Mirza, Wasim Ali, Karan Sonawale, Shah Faisal, Nadeem Khan, Sufyan Mahmood, Jai Odedra, Shafiq Jan, Ashish Odedra, Jiten Ramanandi and Hasnain Ali Shah. Also read: Which team can be the biggest threat to India?: 3 teams win tournament twice, India dominate with 67% win rate Group C: Nepal, the ‘Dark horse’ placed with England West Indies England, West Indies, Nepal, Scotland and Italy comprise Group C. While England and West Indies are hot favourites in this group, Nepal can turn out to be a surprise package. The Rohit Paudel-led side had almost defeated South Africa in the previous edition of T20 World Cup, with the Proteas winning by just one run. Nepal are the ‘dark horse’ in Group C and cannot be taken lightly. After the last T20 World Cup (June 29, 2024), Nepal have played a total of 24 T20 International matches, winning 16 and losing 5, while some matches were tied or had no result. Between 2024 and October 2025, Nepal secured two victories in a series against the USA, while surprising everyone by defeating a strong team like the West Indies by 19 and 90 runs in two matches in Sharjah. After Bangladesh’s exit from the T20 World Cup, Scotland has been included in Group C. England and West Indies are the most successful teams in Group C, having won two T20 World Cup titles each so far. Matches between England and Scotland are always high-voltage. In 2018, Scotland caused a major upset by defeating England by 6 runs in an ODI. Meanwhile, in the 2022 World Cup, Scotland defeated the West Indies. All squads of Group C teams: England: Harry Brook (Captain), Rehan Ahmed, Jofra Archer, Tom Banton, Jacob Bethell, Jos Buttler, Sam Curran, Liam Dawson, Ben Duckett, Will Jacks, Jamie Overton, Adil Rashid, Phil Salt, Josh Tongue and Luke Wood. West Indies: Shai Hope (Captain), Shimron Hetmyer, Johnson Charles, Roston Chase, Matthew Ford, Jason Holder, Akeal Hosein, Shamar Joseph, Brandon King, Gudakesh Motie, Rovman Powell, Sherfane Rutherford, Quintin Sampson, Jayden Seales and Romario Shepherd. Nepal: Rohit Paudel (Captain), Dipendra Singh Airee, Sandeep Lamichhane, Kushal Bhurtel, Aasif Sheikh, Sundeep Jora, Aarif Sheikh, Basir Ahmad, Sompal Kami, Karan KC, Nandan Yadav, Gulshan Jha, Lalit Rajbanshi, Sher Malla and Lokesh Bam. Scotland: Richie Berrington (Captain), Tom Bruce, Matthew Cross, Bradley Currie, Oliver Davidson, Chris Greaves, Zainullah Ihsan, Michael Jones, Michael Leask, Finlay Macrae, Brandon McMullen, George Munsey, Safyaan Sharif, Mark Watt, Brad Wheal. Reserve Players: Jasper Davidson and Jack Jarvis. Italy: Wayne Madsen (Captain), Marcus Campopiano, Gian Piero Meade, Zain Ali, Ali Hassan, Crishan Jorge, Harry Manenti, Anthony Mosca, Justin Mosca, Syed Naqvi, Benjamin Manenti, Jaspreet Singh, JJ Smuts, Grant Stewart and Thomas Draca. Also read: First time Rohit Sharma won’t play in T20 World Cup: Virat Kohli, Ravindra Jadeja also retired, how Team India replaced the legendary trio? Group D: The ‘Group of Death’ Group D includes experienced teams like South Africa and New Zealand, who have experience playing in the T20 World Cup final. South Africa had finished runners-up in the last edition while New Zealand had come up short in the 2021 final. Meanwhile, Afghanistan’s presence in this group makes the matches even more exciting. In 2024, Afghanistan had surprised everyone by reaching the semi-finals and beating teams like New Zealand and Australia.
All squads of Group D teams: South Africa: Aiden Markram (captain), Corbin Bosch, Dewald Brevis, Quinton de Kock, Marco Jansen, George Linde, Keshav Maharaj, Kwena Maphaka, David Miller, Lungi Ngidi, Anrich Nortje, Kagiso Rabada, Ryan Rickelton, Jason Smith, Tristan Stubbs. New Zealand: Mitchell Santner (captain), Finn Allen, Michael Bracewell, Mark Chapman, Devon Conway, Jacob Duffy, Lockie Ferguson, Matt Henry, Kyle Jamieson, Daryl Mitchell, James Neesham, Glenn Phillips, Rachin Ravindra, Tim Seifert, Ish Sodhi. Afghanistan: Rashid Khan (captain), Noor Ahmad, Abdullah Ahmadzai, Sediqullah Atal, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Naveen-ul-Haq, Mohammad Ishaq, Shahidullah Kamal, Mohammad Nabi, Gulbadin Naib, Azmatullah Omarzai, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Darwish Rasooli and Ibrahim Zadran. Canada: Dilpreet Bajwa (Captain), Ajayveer Hundal, Ansh Patel, Dillon Heyliger, Harsh Thaker, Jaskaran Singh Buttar, Kaleem Sana, Kanwarpal Tathgur, Navneet Dhaliwal, Nicholas Kirton, Ravinderpal Singh, Saad Bin Zafar, Shivam Sharma, Shreyas Movva and Yuvraj Samra. UAE: Muhammad Waseem (Captain), Alishan Sharafu, Aryansh Sharma, Dhruv Parashar, Haider Ali, Harshit Kaushik, Junaid Siddique, Mayank Kumar, Muhammad Arfan, Muhammad Farooq, Muhammad Jawadullah, Muhammad Zohaib, Rohid Khan, Sohaib Khan and Simranjeet Singh.