2026 Women's T20 World Cup Global Qualifier
Internation Cricket tournament
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The 2026 ICC Women's T20 World Cup Global Qualifier was an international cricket tournament that was played in January and February 2026 in Nepal.[1][2][3][4] It was the seventh edition of the Women's T20 World Cup Global Qualifier and served as the final qualification tournament, with the top four teams earning qualification for the 2026 Women's T20 World Cup.[5]
| |
| Dates | 18 January – 1 February 2026 |
|---|---|
| Administrator | International Cricket Council |
| Cricket format | Twenty20 International |
| Tournament format(s) | Group round-robin, Super 6 stage |
| Host |  Nepal |
| Champions |  Bangladesh (4th title) |
| Participants | 10 |
| Matches | 29 |
| Most runs |  Gaby Lewis (276) |
| Most wickets |  Tara Norris (15) |
| Official website | International Cricket Council |
The tournament featured ten teams and was played in a Twenty20 format. Matches were hosted across two venues in Nepal, the Tribhuvan University International Cricket Ground in Kirtipur and the Mulpani International Cricket Ground in Mulpani.[6] The selection of Nepal as host reflected the ICC’s efforts to expand the global footprint of women’s cricket and provide greater exposure to emerging cricket nations.[7]
Teams qualified for the global qualifier through regional pathways across Asia, Africa, Europe, Americas, and East Asia-Pacific, with the competition representing the final step toward qualification for the expanded 16-team Women’s T20 World Cup.[8]
The tournament featured a group stage and Super Six stage, with the top four teams qualifying for the 2026 Women's T20 World Cup.[9] The format provided multiple matches for participating teams and supported the ICC’s efforts to strengthen pathways in women’s cricket, while hosting the event was expected to boost the development of the game in Nepal.[3][1]
Qualification
| Means of qualifications | Date | Host | Berths | Qualified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Automatic Qualifications | ||||
| 2024 Women's T20 World Cup | 3–20 October 2024 |  United Arab Emirates |
2 |
Bangladesh |
 Scotland | ||||
| Regional Qualifications | ||||
| Americas Qualifier[10] | 10–17 March 2025 |  Argentina |
1 |
United States |
| Asia Qualifier | 9–20 May 2025 |  Thailand |
2 |
Nepal |
| Thailand | ||||
| Europe Qualifier[11] | 20–27 August 2025 |  Netherlands |
2 |
Ireland |
| Netherlands | ||||
| Africa Qualifier | 31 August – 6 September 2025 |  Namibia |
2 |
Namibia |
 Zimbabwe | ||||
| EAP Qualifier | 9–15 September 2025 |  Fiji |
1 |
 Papua New Guinea |
| Total | 10 | |||
Venues
| Venues in Nepal | ||
|---|---|---|
| Tribhuvan University, Kirtipur |
Cricket Venues in Kathmandu |
Kageshwari-Manohara, Mulpani |
| Tribhuvan University International Cricket Ground
|
Mulpani International Cricket Ground (Upper Mulpani Cricket Ground)
| |
| Capacity: 14,000 | Capacity: 5,000 | |
| Matches: 16 | Matches: 13 | |
Squads
The following squads were announced for the tournament.[12]
Nepal Women's Preparation Series
The Nepal Women's Preparation Series was a women's Twenty20 cricket preparation tournament organised by CAN ahead of the qualifier.[23] The preparation series was held in January 2026 at the Mulpani ground.[24] As the host nation for the Global Qualifier,[25] CAN scheduled a short preparation tournament to provide its players with competitive match practice under local conditions. The tournament was officially announced by the Cricket Association of Nepal on 6 January 2026 through its verified social media platforms.[24]
The tournament was intended to:
- Provide competitive match practice ahead of the Global Qualifier
- Assist team management in assessing player form and combinations
- Allow teams to acclimatise to playing conditions in Nepal
The tournament featured the Nepal women's national team playing preparation matches against the United States and Scotland women's teams, who were participants in the Global Qualifier. Although Zimbabwe were named in early reports, they did not take part in the series; as a result, the United States played an additional match against Nepal.[26][27]
There was one warm-up match before the preparation series:
v |
||
Puja Mahato 48 (33) Ritu Singh 2/20(3 overs) |
- Nepal women won the toss and elected to field.
- Warm-up match played between Nepal women and USA women.
The January fixtures were announced by CAN on 6th of December.[26]
v |
||
Samjhana Khadka 54 (28) Ritu Singh 2/23 (4 overs) |
Ella Claridge 76 (45) Suman Bista 1/14 (2 overs) |
- Nepal women won the toss and elected to bat.
- Preparation match before 2026 Women's T20 World Cup Global Qualifier.
v |
||
- Scotland women won the toss and elected to bat.
- Preparation match before 2026 Women's T20 World Cup Global Qualifier.
- Kathryn Bryce was retired hurt due to an injury.
v |
||
Ella Claridge 39 (23) Manisha Upadhaya 2/31 (3 overs) |
- United States women won the toss and elected to bat.
- Preparation match before 2026 Women's T20 World Cup Global Qualifier.
- The game was initially scheduled against Zimbabwe but was later rescheduled against the United States women.
Broadcasting
The opening match of the series was not streamed live. From the second match onwards, live coverage was made available on the Cricket Association of Nepal's official YouTube channel, using an analytical camera setup rather than a full professional broadcast. Live scores for all matches were provided through the CricClubs platform.[28][29]
Warm-up matches
Ahead of the tournament, each of the ten participating sides played two official warm-up games against other teams in the tournament.
v |
||
- Netherlands won the toss and elected to field.
v |
||
- Ireland won the toss and elected to bat.
v |
||
- Namibia won the toss and elected to bat.
v |
||
Darcey Carter 57 (42) Maahi Madhavan 1/23 (3 overs) |
Chetna Pagydyala 41 (38) Olivia Bell 1/4 (1 over) |
- United States won the toss and elected to field.
v |
||
- Ireland won the toss and elected to field.
v |
||
- Papua New Guinea won the toss and elected to bat.
v |
||
- Namibia won the toss and elected to field.
v |
||
Bindu Rawal 27 (28) Taranum Chopra 3/23 (4 overs) |
Chetna Pagydyala 56* (46) Suman Bista 1/23 (3.1 overs) |
- United States won the toss and elected to field.
v |
||
Juairiya Ferdous 31 (29) Suleeporn Laomi 2/32 (4 overs) |
- Bangladesh won the toss and elected to bat.
Group stage
The fixtures were released by International Cricket Council on 7 January 2026.[30][31]
Group A
Points table
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | NR | Pts | NRR | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bangladesh |
4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 1.750 | Advanced to the Super 6 |
| 2 | Ireland |
4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 1.165 | |
| 3 | United States |
4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 4 | −0.209 | |
| 4 | Papua New Guinea |
4 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 2 | −1.025 | Eliminated |
| 5 | Namibia |
4 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | −1.669 |
Fixtures
v |
||
Sharmin Akhter 63 (39) Maahi Madhavan 3/23 (4 overs) |
Chetna Pagydyala 36 (31) Nahida Akter 4/24 (4 overs) |
- United States won the toss and elected to field.
- Juairiya Ferdous (Ban) made her T20I debut.
- This was the first women's T20I to be played at this venue.
v |
||
Shorna Akter 37 (14) Dika Lohia 1/25 (3 overs) |
- Papua New Guinea won the toss and elected to field.
v |
||
- United States won the toss and elected to field.
v |
||
- Ireland won the toss and elected to bat.
v |
||
- Namibia won the toss and elected to field.
v |
||
- Namibia won the toss and elected to bat.
v |
||
- Bangladesh won the toss and elected to bat.
- Amy Hunter (Ire) played in her 100th international match.[33]
v |
||
Konio Oala 41 (40) Lekha Shetty 3/27 (4 overs) |
Gargi Bhogle 35 (39) Dika Lohia 2/7 (2 overs) |
- Papua New Guinea won the toss and elected to bat.
Group B
Points table
Fixtures
v |
||
- Thailand won the toss and elected to field.
v |
||
- Zimbabwe won the toss and elected to field.
- Christabel Chatonzwa (Zim) took her first five-wicket haul in T20Is.[34]
v |
||
- Zimbabwe won the toss and elected to field.
v |
||
- Netherlands won the toss and elected to bat.
v |
||
- Netherlands won the toss and elected to bat.
- Rubina Chhetry (Nep) completed 1000 runs in her T20I career.[35]
v |
||
- Zimbabwe won the toss and elected to bat.
v |
||
- Scotland won the toss and elected to field.
v |
||
- Nepal won the toss and elected to field.
- Sita Rana Magar (Nep) completed 1000 runs in her T20I career.[36]
v |
||
- Nepal won the toss and elected to field.
v |
||
- Thailand won the toss and elected to field.
Super 6 stage
Results between qualified teams were carried forward from the group stage. Each team therefore played only three matches against the qualified teams from the other group.
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | NR | Pts | NRR | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bangladesh |
5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 1.886 | Qualified for the 2026 Women's T20 World Cup |
| 2 | Ireland |
5 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 1.280 | |
| 3 | Scotland |
5 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 0.292 | |
| 4 | Netherlands |
5 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 6 | −0.836 | |
| 5 | United States |
5 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 2 | −0.772 | Eliminated |
| 6 | Thailand |
5 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | −1.883 |
Fixtures
v |
||
- Ireland won the toss and elected to field.
v |
||
- Thailand won the toss and elected to field.
v |
||
- United States won the toss and elected to bat.
- No further play was possible due to rain.
v |
||
- Bangladesh won the toss and elected to bat.
- Pippa Sproul (Sco) made her T20I debut.
v |
||
- Netherlands won the toss and elected to field.
v |
||
- United States won the toss and elected to bat.
v |
||
- Ireland won the toss and elected to bat.
- Thanrada Seesawan (Tha) made her T20I debut.
v |
||
- Netherlands won the toss and elected to bat.
v |
||
- Scotland won the toss and elected to bat.
Final standings
| Position | Team |
|---|---|
| 1st | Bangladesh |
| 2nd | Ireland |
| 3rd | Scotland |
| 4th | Netherlands |
| 5th | United States |
| 6th | Thailand |
| 7th | Papua New Guinea |
| 8th | Nepal |
| 9th | Zimbabwe |
| 10th | Namibia |
Qualified for the 2026 Women's T20 World Cup.