ICC World T20 in India: All 6 qualifiers confirmed; 16 teams in tournament

Dublin, July 24: All 6 qualification spots for the ICC World Twenty20 2016 tournament in India have been confirmed with the last 2 berths sealed yesterday (July 23).

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Afghanistan and Oman claimed the final 2 places at next year's World T20 in India with victories over Papua New Guinea and Namibia in the last-ditch play-offs in Dublin, the International Cricket Council (ICC) announced on Thursday.

Omani players celebrate after the win. Photo: ©ICC/Sportsfile

The 6 confirmed teams heading to India are, Ireland, Netherlands, Afghanistan, Oman, Scotland and Hong Kong. These 6 will join the 10 Test playing nations (Full Members of ICC) who have direct entry to the tournament, which will be held from March 11 to April 3, 2016.

The Afghans beat the team from the Asia-Pacific region by 6 wickets at Malahide while the Omanis were too strong for the men from Africa, eventually winning by five wickets at the same venue to reach its first-ever ICC World Twenty20, ICC added.

According to ICC, the format of the World Twenty20 Qualifier 2015 is that the sides that top the 2 groups will automatically qualify for the World T20, while the teams that finish 2nd and 3rd in each of the 2 groups will play cross-over matches with the 2 winners joining the table-toppers for the tournament.

Ireland and Hong Kong topped Group A in the qualifying tournament while Scotland and Netherlands took the top 2 spots in Group B.

After the victory, Afghanistan captain Asghar said, "We are very happy. Qualification is very important for us. The team felt no pressure. The bowling won us the game. They bowled really well. It's very important for our country that we qualified. We were disappointed by the performance against Hong Kong but now we are delighted."

"We are delighted. Back in Oman, all the supporters and my family will be so happy that we have qualified. Here, I was just playing my own game, not taking any pressure, so I am happy to have helped the team and the result is there," Oman's Zeeshan Ahmed said after the match.