We look at the sides in Group D – South Africa, New Zealand, Afghanistan, Canada and UAE – for the T20 World Cup, which is live on Sky Sports from February 7 to March 8.
New Zealand
Best result: Runners-up (2021)
2024 result: Group stage
How did they qualify for 2026? Through T20 international ranking
Head coach: Rob Walter
Squad: Mitchell Santner (captain), Finn Allen, Michael Bracewell, Mark Chapman, Devon Conway, Jacob Duffy, Lockie Ferguson, Matt Henry, Kyle Jamieson, Daryl Mitchell, Jimmy Neesham, Glenn Phillips, Rachin Ravindra, Tim Seifert, Ish Sodhi. Reserve: Ben Sears.
Players to watch: Opening batter Finn Allen was Mr Consistent for Perth Scorchers in the recent Big Bash League as he helped them to a sixth title this season.
His 466 runs came at an average of 42.36, including an impressive 101 off 53 balls, while he then plundered 80 from 38 deliveries in a recent T20I in India. The Black Caps will hope he can replicate that form at the World Cup.
Leg-spinner Ish Sodhi could play a vital role in the balance of the side. He struggled to make a significant impact in a recent T20 series against India, but then few did during a 4-1 loss.
Round-one fixtures: vs Afghanistan (Chennai, February 8); vs United Arab Emirates (Chennai, February 10); vs South Africa (Ahmedabad, February 14); vs Canada (Chennai, February 17).
South Africa
Best result: Runners-up (2024)
2024 result: Runners-up, lost to India by seven runs in final
How did they qualify for 2026? Through their performance in the 2024 T20 World Cup.
Head coach: Shukri Conrad
Squad: Aiden Markram (captain), Quinton de Kock, Dewald Brevis, David Miller, Marco Jansen, Keshav Maharaj, Kagiso Rabada, Kwena Maphaka, Lungi Ngidi, Jason Smith, George Linde, Corbin Bosch, Anrich Nortje, Ryan Rickelton, Tristan Stubbs.
Players to watch: One last hurrah for explosive opener Quinton de Kock as he comes out of international retirement? He has the ability to take a game quickly away from the opposition if he comes off from ball one.
Another exciting batter is Dewald Brevis, who already has an impressive range of performances on the big stages to draw on as experience. Scored 101 off just 56 balls, albeit in a losing cause, in the recent SA20 final.
Round-one fixtures: vs Canada (Ahmedabad, February 9); vs Afghanistan (Ahmedabad, February 11); vs New Zealand (Ahmedabad, February 14); vs United Arab Emirates (Delhi, February 18).
Afghanistan
Best result: Semi-finalists (2024)
2024 result: Semi-finals, lost to South Africa
How did they qualify for 2026? Through their performance in the 2024 T20 World Cup.
Head coach: Jonathan Trott
Squad: Rashid Khan (captain), Ibrahim Zadran, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Mohammad Ishaq, Sediqullah Atal, Darwish Rasooli, Shahidullah Kamal, Azmatullah Omarzai, Gulbadin Naib, Mohammad Nabi, Noor Ahmad, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Abdullah Ahmadzai, Ziaur Rahman. Reserves: AM Ghazanfar, Ijaz Ahmadzai, Fareed Ahmad.
Players to watch: It’s hard to look past Rashid Khan. Captain. Leader. Legend, to borrow a term used on a banner at Stamford Bridge. Incredible to think the leg-spinner is still only 27 such is the weight of experience already under his belt. A potential match-winner with both ball and bat.
Noor Ahmad is a name that might become even more familiar during The Hundred next summer as he returns to Manchester Super Giants, but also very much the apprentice to Rashid at just 21.
An exciting left-arm spinner who already has an impressive CV from franchise leagues around the world.
Round-one fixtures: vs New Zealand (Chennai, February 8), vs South Africa (Ahmedabad, February 11), vs United Arab Emirates (Delhi, February 16), vs Canada (Chennai, February 19).
Canada
Best result: Group stage (2024)
2024 result: Group stage
How did they qualify for 2026? Came through the Americas Qualifier.
Head coach: Ingleton Liburd
Squad: Dilpreet Bajwa (captain), Ajayveer Hundal, Ansh Patel, Dilon Heyliger, Harsh Thaker, Jaskarandeep Buttar, Kaleem Sana, Kanwarpal Tathgur, Navneet Dhaliwal, Nicholas Kirton, Ravinderpal Singh, Saad Bin Zafar, Shivam Sharma, Shreyas Movva, Yuvraj Samra.
Players to watch: Barbados-born left-handed batter Nicholas Kirton will slot into the middle order and has pedigree playing for Jamaica Tallawahs in the Caribbean Premier League. He struck 49 off 35 balls in Canada’s only victory in 2024 against Ireland in New York.
Off-spinner Shivam Sharma claimed 11 wickets at just 7.81 as Canada won all six of their matches in the Americas Qualifier to reach the tournament.
Round-one fixtures: vs South Africa (Ahmedabad, February 9); vs United Arab Emirates (Delhi, February 13); vs New Zealand (Chennai, February 17) vs Afghanistan (Chennai, February 19).
United Arab Emirates
Best result: Group stage (2014, 2022)
2024 result: Did not qualify
How did they qualify for 2026? Came through the Asia-Pacific Qualifier
Head coach: Lalchand Rajput
Squad: Muhammad Waseem (captain), Alishan Sharafu, Aryansh Sharma, Dhruv Parashar, Haider Ali, Harshit Kaushik, Junaid Siddique, Mayank Kumar, Muhammad Arfan, Muhammad Farooq, Muhammad Jawadullah, Muhammad Zohaib, Rohid Khan, Sohaib Khan, Simranjeet Singh.
Players to watch: Captain and star batter Muhammad Waseem has recently been in action for both MI Emirates on home soil as they finished runners-up in this year’s ILT20 and for Rajshahi Warriors in the Bangladesh Premier League where a couple of half-centuries helped him to a healthy batting average of 62.66.
Right-arm seam bowler Junaid Siddique has more than 100 T20 international wickets to his name. He has taken the new ball in recent warm-up matches against Ireland, bagging useful wickets in the powerplay as well.
Round-one fixtures: vs New Zealand (Chennai, February 10); vs Canada (Delhi, February 13); vs Afghanistan (Delhi, February 16); vs South Africa (Delhi, February 18).
Watch the Men’s T20 World Cup live on Sky Sports from February 7 to March 8. Get Sky Sports or stream contract-free with NOW.
