Oman qualify for ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2026

Muscat: The Sultanate of Oman have secured place in their fourth ICC Men’s T20 World Cup as the hosts along with Nepal were guaranteed top three spots on Wednesday in the Asia/East Asia-Pacific Qualifier following UAE’s win over Samoa and Qatar’s victory over Japan at the Oman Cricket Academy ground in Al Amerat.
The qualification comes on the back of an impressive outing in the recent Asia Cup where Oman made their debut.
Oman had inched closer to the qualification after a thrilling five-wicket victory over close-contenders the UAE on Monday.
The win marked Oman’s fourth successive victory in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup Asia/EAP Qualifier and also avenged their Asia Cup defeat to the UAE last month.
Against UAE, Oman needed 29 runs from the last three overs. Nadeem Khan’s blistering 30 off 16 balls, including three towering sixes and two boundaries, sealed the crucial points in favour of Oman.
Oman and Nepal were due to face each other in Super Six phase later on Wednesday evening. Both the teams have six points each ahead of the match.
Oman brought over two over two points to the Super Six stage after defeating Samoa and Papua New Guinea in the group stage and cruised to a first win over Qatar, comfortably defending 172 in the Super Six.
UAE hold third position for now after a 77-run win over Samoa, and will meet Japan in a crucial match.
Qatar beat Japan by three wickets to stay afloat. They need other results to go their way, a win over the Samoans on Thursday, and the edge on net run rate to remain alive.
Five of the first six matches in the Super Six stage went to the final over to highlight the fine margins between the sides, with the Nepalis prevailing in two nail-biters to book their tickets.
Unbeaten in group action, the side brought two carry over points to the Super Six stage before their final-ball victories against UAE and Qatar.
Dipendra Singh Airee was taken for six by Dhruv Parashar to make the equation just three runs off the final three balls for the Emiratis, though a catch hit to Sundeep Jora and two run outs back-to-back meant a last-gasp Nepal victory.
A day later, Rohit Paudel's team pulled another win out of the fire, with Qatar 97/1 inside 12 overs chasing 148.
Sandeep Lamichhane (5/18) sparked a collapse, and with only two wickets in hand needing 10, the Qataris left themselves too much to do.
The Samoans, who could not repeat their strong group stage performance where they beat regional rivals Papua New Guinea, have been mathematically eliminated from a top three spot.
Remaining Fixtures (all times local Oman time)
16 October, 14:30: United Arab Emirates v Japan
16 October, 19:00: Qatar v Samoa
17 October, 10:00: Japan v Oman
17 October, 14:30: Samoa v Nepal