T20 World Cup 2026 | Zimbabwe and Namibia book tickets after progressing from African qualifiers

‌Zimbabwe and Namibia punched their tickets for the T20 World Cup to be held in India and Sri Lanka early next year. They beat Kenya and Tanzania, respectively, in their last four clash in the African regional qualifier final at the Harare Sports Club on Thursday. They will now join South Africa, who had qualified directly by virtue of their higher ranking.

After being put in to bat first, Namibia recovered well to post a formidable 174/6 after being reduced to 41/4 inside the powerplay. JJ Smit remained unbeaten on 61 off 43 balls, a knock which included four sixes and a four, while captain Gerhard Erasmus scored 41-ball 55. In response, they restricted Tanzania to 111/8, with Smit picking up 3/16 to complete an all-round performance, as Namibia pulled off a convincing 63-run win.

Meanwhile, Zimbabwe put on a disciplined bowling show to keep Kenya to 122/6 after the visitors opted to bat first. The home side, then, cantered to 123/3 in just 15 overs, with openers Brian Bennett and Tadiwanashe Marumani setting the foundation with a 76-run stand in 6.2 overs. Bennett was the aggressor of the lot, smashing eight fours and two sixes during his 25-ball 51, while Marumani scored 39.

The T20 World Cup is set to start in the subcontinent in February-March next year, with 20 teams split into four groups in a similar format to the last event in the Americas in 2024. The Netherlands and Italy have made it the big-ticket event after qualifying from the European region, while Canada progressed from the Americas. Three more teams will qualify from the Asian and East Asian Pacific qualifiers to round off the 20-team list.