Namibia and Zimbabwe qualify for ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026
Media release
Namibia and Zimbabwe have secured their places in the 20-team ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 in India and Sri Lanka.
The qualifications come by virtue of reaching the final of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup Africa Qualifier in Harare, where they are both the unbeaten table toppers of their respective groups.
Namibia (Group A) beat Tanzania by an emphatic 63 runs in their semi-final match to book their fourth consecutive place in the Men’s T20 World Cup, while hosts, Zimbabwe (Group B) cruised to a seven-wicket win over Kenya, qualifying for the tournament for the first time since the 2022 edition in Australia.
Namibia and Zimbabwe will meet in the Qualifier final on Saturday at Harare Sports Club.
JJ Smit (61 not out) and captain Gerhard Erasmus (55) scored half-centuries to help their side to 174 for six in the morning match, recovering well after they slipped to 44 for one in the fifth over. The pair recovered the innings well with their 88-run stand for the sixth wicket before Smit showed off his all-rounder chops when he went on to take three wickets for just 16 runs along with Ben Shikongo (three for 21) to restrict Tanzania to 111 for eight.
In the afternoon, Kenya set a 123-run target for Zimbabwe after winning the toss and electing to bat first. Rakep Patel led the charge with the bat, scoring 65 runs from 47 deliveries before he was caught and bowled by Richard Ngarava at the start of the 17th over.
Blessing Muzarabani (two wickets for 19) led the attack, dispatching the openers – captain, Dhiren Gondaria and Pushkar Sharma – for one and 11 runs respectively.
Sachin Gill and Jasraj Kundi chipped in with 19 and 13 much-needed runs to give their side a respectable total to defend.
Zimbabwe’s openers, Brian Bennett (51) and Tadiwanashe Marumani (39) did the bulk of work in the chase, sharing a 76-run partnership before Bennett was dismissed by Vraj Patel in the seventh over.
Captain, Sikandar Raza chipped in with 10 runs before his dismissal, leaving Ryan Burl and Tony Munyonga with little to do, they returned unbeaten for 16 and three runs respectively as the hosts won the match with five overs to spare.
The final three spots will be decided in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 Asia/East-Asia Pacific Qualifier taking place in Oman in October.
ENDS