T20 World Cup 2026: All you need to know about Associate teams

Published - 31 Jan 2026, 14:31 IST | Updated - 31 Jan 2026, 14:31 IST

Eight Associate Nations will compete at the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 in India and Sri Lanka. Here is a closer look at their paths to the competition and some potential names to watch, starting with theT20 World Cup 2026:

In an era in which their footballers have struggled to make it to World Cups, Italian cricket is breaking new ground and will appear at this tournament for the first time.

Their journey began in European sub-regional qualifying, where they topped a group containing France, the Isle of Man, Luxembourg and Turkey before beating Romania in the final on home soil.

They then came through a nerve-shredding ICC Men's T20 World Cup Europe Regional Qualifier, where a narrow victory over the Netherlands in the final match saw the Italians pip Jersey to a spot in the tournament proper.

Wayne Madsen will lead a side that includes JJ Smuts who was capped 19 times by South Africa, with Italy placed in Group C alongside England, Nepal, Scotland and West Indies.