T20 World Cup 2021 Format

Last Modified Oct 15, 2021 19:17 IST

ICC T20 World Cup 2021 will begin on October 17 in the United Arab Emirates and Oman. Initially, India was set to host the competition, but the BCCI then moved the tournament to the UAE and Oman. There are a total of 16 T20 World Cup teams. Here we will have a detailed look at the T20 World Cup 2021 Format.


Table of Content


  1. What is the format for the 2021 T20 World Cup?
  2. T20 World Cup Round 1 Format
  3. T20 World Cup 2021 Super 12 format



What is the format for the 2021 T20 World Cup?


The ICC T20 World Cup has two rounds. The first round is the Qualifying stage. The second round is Super 12.


The top-seven ranked teams on ICC T20I Rankings along with T20 World Cup 2021 hosts India automatically qualified for Super 12. Eight other nations will play in the Qualifying stage.


T20 World Cup Round 1 Format


Number of teams: 8

Number of matches: 12


As mentioned ahead, eight teams will participate in the Qualifying stage, which is Round 1 of the T20 World Cup. The eight teams are Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Oman, Namibia, Holland, Ireland, Papua New Guinea and Scotland.


The eight teams have been divided into 2 T20 World Cup 2021 groups - Group ‘A’ and Group ‘B’.


Group A - Oman, Bangladesh, Scotland and Papua New Guinea.

Group B - Sri Lanka, Namibia, Holland and Ireland.


  1. Each team will play one match against the other three teams of their group.
  2. After all matches are over, the organizers will look at the T20 World Cup points table.
  3. The Top 2 teams that register the most wins or have the most points in the group will receive a promotion to Super 12 stage.
  4. The bottom 2 teams of each group will have to return home.
  5. The other four teams that qualify will fill up the four vacant spots in Super 12. They will join the eight teams that have already qualified.
  6. The number 1 team of Group ‘A’ in the Round 1 will join Group 1 in Super 12. Similarly, the number 1 team of Group ‘B’ will join Group 2 in Super 12.
  7. The number 2 team of Group ‘A’ will join Group 2 in Super 12. The number 2 team of Group ‘B’ will join Group 1 in Super 12.


T20 World Cup 2021 Super 12 format


Number of teams: 12 (8 already qualified + 4 from Qualifying Stage)

Number of matches: 30


Eight teams namely India, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, West Indies and England have already qualified for the Super 12 stage.


ICC has divided the team in the Super 12 stage of T20 World Cup into two groups as well.


Group 1: Australia, South Africa, England, West Indies, Winner of Group A in Qualifying Stage, Runner-up of Group B in Qualifying Stage

Group 2: India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, New Zealand, Winner of Group B in Qualifying Stage, Runner-up of Group B in Qualifying Stage


  1. Each team will play against five other teams in their group once during the Super 12 stage.
  2. The organizers will look at the points table after all matches are over.
  3. The Top 2 teams with the most wins/most number of points will progress to the T20 World Cup semi finals.
  4. The Bottom 4 teams from both groups will return home.




T20 World Cup teams and Groups Format