Uganda have made history by qualifying for their first-ever ICC T20 World Cup by securing the last available spot from Africa and completing the 20-team lineup for the tournament to be held in the Caribbean and the United States next year.
Uganda secured their spot by beating Rwanda in the Africa qualifiers on Thursday, pushing out former regional powerhouse Zimbabwe, whom they beat by five wickets on Sunday in their first-ever T20 international win over a full-member team.
Rwanda were dismissed for 65 after being asked to bat first by Uganda, who chased the target in 8.1 overs at the Wanderers Cricket Ground in Windhoek, Namibia.
Namibia were the second team to qualify from the region, having previously played in the 2021 and 2022 editions.
Celebrations just got started!
T20 World Cup-bound Uganda once again took the famous nursery school rhyme to the global audience.Ekibobo kili mu nyumba led by coach @OgwangOyuku – Indeed the boys got the big basket in the house.#CricketCranesInColour #Twaake @PlasconUganda pic.twitter.com/V9ySSE4PKs
— Uganda Cricket Association (@CricketUganda) November 30, 2023
In total, eight teams have booked their spots through the regional qualifying matches. Ireland and Scotland took the European slots, Nepal and Oman qualified from Asia, Canada qualified from North America and Papua New Guinea took up the East Asia-Pacific slot.
The US will participate in the tournament – their first-ever major ICC event – by virtue of being joint hosts along with the West Indies.
Australia, England, India, Netherlands, New Zealand, Pakistan, South Africa and Sri Lanka qualified on the basis of their top-eight finish in the previous T20 World Cup.
Meanwhile, Afghanistan and Bangladesh qualified by being the two next top teams in the ICC T20 rankings at the end of last year’s T20 World Cup.
The 2024 event will be played in two phases – a knockout round and a main round.
The top two teams in each of the four groups of five will move to a Super Eights phase, where the remaining sides split into two groups of four. The top two in each group will then make their way to the semifinals.
The tournament will be held from June 4 to 30 at seven venues across the Caribbean and three in the US, including Dallas, Florida and New York.
ICC T20 World Cup 2024 teams: Afghanistan, Australia, Bangladesh, Canada, England, India, Ireland, Namibia, Nepal, Netherlands, New Zealand, Oman, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Scotland, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Uganda, United States, and West Indies.
