When is the T20 World Cup Qualifier in the UAE – and why are Nepal not in it?

The final six teams to play at the Twenty20 World Cup in Australia next year will be decided by a qualifying tournament in the UAE. The top 10 teams in the world rankings are already booked in for the main event, which will be played in October and November 2020 in six venues across Australia. The sides already there are Pakistan, England, South Africa, India, Australia, New Zealand, Afghanistan, Sri Lanka, West Indies and Bangladesh. Fourteen other teams will be vying to join them. The top six teams in the tournament in Dubai and Abu Dhabi will go to the T20 World Cup. When they get there, they will be split into two groups of four in the first round, with Sri Lanka waiting for them in one pool, and Bangladesh in the other. The Qualifier is divided into two groups of seven. The winners of the respective pools advance directly to the semifinal stage – and, more important, qualify for Australia immediately. The next three best placed teams in each group then enter a play-off system, with the last surviving six teams advancing to the World Cup. The tournament starts on October 18, in Dubai and Abu Dhabi. The final will take place on November 2 at the Dubai International Stadium. The first sides entered into the Qualifier were those ranked 11 to 16 in the ICC T20I Championship as of December 31, 2018. These were Scotland, Netherlands, Zimbabwe – who were subsequently barred from competing – Hong Kong, Oman and Ireland. The UAE qualified as hosts of the tournament, while the remaining eight teams made it via regional qualifying competitions. They are Papua New Guinea, Namibia, Kenya, Nigeria – who replaced Zimbabwe – Jersey, Singapore, Canada and Bermuda. The highest-ranked side in the world other than the 10 automatic qualifiers for the T20 World Cup are Nepal. And yet the world’s No 11 ranked side will not be at the qualifying tournament. Had they been, Nepal would have had high hopes for making it all the way to Australia. They have good recent memories of playing in the UAE, having beaten the national team in series in both T20 and ODI cricket earlier this year. However, they missed out on the chance to play at the Qualifier when they finished third behind Singapore and Qatar at the Asia Regional finals in Singapore in July. At No 15 in the world, Zimbabwe are the next highest-ranked absentee from the competition. In July, the ICC suspended Zimbabwe Cricket and barred their team from playing in ICC events. Group A (world ranking in brackets) 1 Scotland (12) 2 Netherlands (16) 3 Papua New Guinea (17) 4 Namibia (20) 5 Singapore (21) 6 Kenya (29) 7 Bermuda (30) Group B 1 UAE (13) 2 Ireland (14) 3 Oman (18) 4 Hong Kong (19) 5 Canada (24) 6 Jersey (25) 7 Nigeria (38) Friday, October 18 ICC Academy: 10am, Scotland v Singapore, 2.10pm, Netherlands v Kenya Zayed Cricket Stadium: 2.10pm, Hong Kong v Ireland, 7.30pm, Oman v UAE Saturday, October 19 ICC Academy: 10am, PNG v Bermuda, 2.10pm, Netherlands v Namibia, Scotland v Kenya Zayed Cricket Stadium: 2.10pm, Jersey v Nigeria, 7.30pm, Ireland v UAE Sunday, October 20 ICC Academy: 10am , PNG v Namibia, 2.10pm, Bermuda v Singapore Abu Dhabi Cricket, Oval 1: 10am, Canada v Jersey Zayed Cricket Stadium: 2.10pm, Hong Kong v Oman Monday, October 21 ICC Academy: 10am, Scotland v PNG, 2.10pm Kenya v Bermuda Zayed Cricket Stadium: 2.10am, Hong Kong v UAE, 7.30pm, Canada v Nigeria Abu Dhabi Cricket, Oval 1: 2.10pm, Ireland v Oman Tuesday, October 22 ICC Academy: 10am, Scotland v Namibia, 2.10pm, Singapore v Netherlands Abu Dhabi Cricket Oval 1: 2.10pm, UAE v Jersey Wednesday, October 23 ICC Academy: 10am, Namibia v Bermuda, 2.10pm, Singapore v Kenya Zayed Cricket Stadium: 2.10pm, Ireland v Canada, 7.30pm, Hong Kong v Jersey Abu Dhabi Cricket Oval 1: 10am, Oman v Nigeria Thursday, October 24 Dubai International Stadium: 7.30pm, Scotland v Bermuda ICC Academy: 10am, Netherlands v PNG Abu Dhabi Cricket Oval 1: 10am, UAE v Nigeria, 2.10pm, Hong Kong v Canada Friday, October 25 Dubai International Stadium: 10am, PNG v Singapore, 2.10pm, Namibia v Kenya Zayed Cricket Stadium: 7.30pm, Oman v Canada Abu Dhabi Cricket Oval 1: 10am, Ireland v Jersey Saturday, October 26 Dubai International Stadium: 2.10pm, Netherlands v Bermuda, 7.30pm, Namibia v Singapore Zayed Cricket Stadium: 10am: Ireland v Nigeria Sunday, October 27 Dubai International Stadium: 10am, PNG v Kenya, 2.10pm, Scotland v Netherlands Zayed Cricket Stadium: 2.10pm, Oman v Jersey, 7.30pm, UAE v Canada Abu Dhabi Cricket Oval 1: 10am, Hong Kong v Nigeria Tuesday, October 29 Dubai International Stadium: 2.10pm, Play-off 1 – A2 v B3, 7.30pm, Play-off 2 – A3 v B2 ( Wednesday, October 30 Dubai International Stadium: 2.10pm, Play-off 3 – A4 v Loser of Play-off 1, 7.30pm, Play-off 4 – B4 v Loser of Play-off 2 Friday, November 1 Dubai International Stadium: 2.10pm, Semifinal 1 – B1 v Winner of Play-off 1, 7.30pm, Semifinal 2 – A1 v Winner of Play-off 2 Saturday, November 2 Dubai International Stadium: 2.10pm, Third place Play-off – B1 v Winner of Play-off 1, 7.30pm, Final

When is the T20 World Cup Qualifier in the UAE – and why are Nepal not in it?

The battle for the final spots at next year's tournament in Australia will take place in Abu Dhabi and Dubai. Here are all the details for the October-November competition