The 10th edition of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup will begin in India and Sri Lanka on February 7 featuring 20 teams. Of the participating teams, eight are Associate Nations of the International Cricket Council.

Associate Nations are the teams that have not been granted Test status by the International Cricket Council (ICC), the governing body of global cricket.

There would have been seven Associate Nations in the 2026 edition, but it went up to eight after Scotland replaced Bangladesh recently.

On Saturday, the ICC released brief introductions of the eight Associates. Amid this, the Post takes a look into the teams’ journeys to the main event and what the ICC has to say about them.

Canada

Canada will mark their second participation in the T20 World Cup when they take on South Africa on February 9. They made their debut in the 2024 edition, where they upset Ireland, a Full Member.

Canada qualified for the 2026 edition after finishing unbeaten in the Americas Regional Qualifier. They will be facing Afghanistan, New Zealand, South Africa and the UAE in Group D.

“All-rounder Shivam Sharma took 11 scalps to finish as the competition’s leading wicket-taker and is one to watch, so too is 22-year-old captain Dilpreet Bajwa,” the ICC states.

Canada’s head coach Ingleton Liburd, as quoted by the ICC, said, “The players displayed exceptional commitment and focus throughout the Qualifier. We’re now fully focused on preparing the team to compete at the highest level.”

Italy

Italy is more of a footballing nation with four FIFA World Cup titles. Meanwhile, at a time when they have missed the FIFA World Cup in Russia in 2018 and Qatar in 2022, alongside having their participation for 2026 hanging by a thread, the ICC believes that Italy’s maiden berth in the T20 World Cup was a relief for the country.

Italy entered the Europe Regional Qualifier as the champions of the Europe Sub-Regional Qualifier A. Further, they went on to beat Scotland in the league stage of the European Qualifier and qualify as one of the two teams, alongside the Netherlands, from Europe.

“Wayne Madsen will lead a side that includes JJ Smuts, who was capped 19 times by South Africa, with Italy placed in Group C alongside England, Nepal, Scotland and West Indies,” the ICC states.

Italy recently managed a win over Ireland in a three-match T20I series in Dubai from January 23 to 26.

Moreover, Italy are the only team without an ODI status in the 2026 Men’s T20 World Cup.

Namibia

The 10th edition in 2026 will mark the Eagles’ fourth appearance in the T20 World Cup.

Namibia won their three group games before JJ Smit, with an unbeaten 61 with the bat and 3/16 with the ball, ensured a semi-final win over Tanzania in the Africa Regional Qualifier to book a ticket to South Asia.

“Namibia lost the final to Zimbabwe but were assured of a place regardless and will be led once again by their indomitable captain, Gerhard Erasmus,” the ICC states.

Similarly, with nine of the players from the Eagles’ last T20 World Cup returning to the squad, Jan Nicol Loftie-Eaton, who is looking to capture his fine form from the Qualifier, will be the player to watch, as per the ICC.

Nepal

Nepal made their entry as the undefeated team in the Asia-EAP Regional Qualifier. It will be the Rhinos’ third appearance in the T20 World Cup, having debuted in 2014.

Similarly, it is the first time that Nepal, whose second participation was in 2024, will be appearing in the T20 World Cup consecutively.

“Tight finishes have become routine for Nepal, and they were again involved in some thrillers at the qualifying event, beating the UAE by one run and Qatar by five runs in two close contests,” the ICC writes.

The ICC also states that Nepal are looking to ‘make it out of the group stage for the first time’ in the 2026 World Cup.

Regarding players to watch, the ICC mentions skipper Rohit Kumar Paudel, 23, and vice-captain Dipendra Singh Airee, who is currently the world’s sixth-best T20I all-rounder.

The Rhinos have had good preparation before the World Cup, having trained at venues in the two co-hosts, Sri Lanka and India. They won their second T20 against the Mumbai Cricket Association President XI at Brabourne Cricket Stadium on Saturday.

The Netherlands

Among the Associates, the Dutch side has one of the best records in the T20 World Cup. Remarkably, they have advanced beyond the group stage of the competition twice.

It will be their seventh appearance in the World Cup, having qualified from Europe alongside Italy this time. It will be their third consecutive T20 World Cup under the captaincy of Scott Edwards.

Having placed in Group A alongside co-hosts India, Pakistan and the USA, the Netherlands’ head coach Ryan Cook, as quoted by the ICC, said that his team had depth and variety in options, which will be effective against the opposition under the available conditions.

“With experience in the past few World Cups, having played against all of the teams in our group recently and having exposure to the conditions in Sri Lanka and India,” Cook said, “we’re confident in our preparations over the past few months.”

Oman

Oman were the hosts of the Asia-EAP Regional Qualifier for the T20 World Cup in October last year. Of the 10 teams participating in the tournament, three progressed to the main event.

Of the three qualified teams, Oman finished second in the Super 6 stage.

Nadeem Khan and Jiten Ramanandi took 11 wickets apiece at the Qualifier, and they will be the bowlers to watch for Oman. Meanwhile, the ICC believes that the player to watch would be their skipper.

“...Oman’s all-time leading T20I run-scorer, Jatinder Singh, will captain the squad, having missed out on the 2024 edition,” the ICC states.

They are in Group B with co-hosts Sri Lanka, Australia, Ireland and Zimbabwe.

“It’s a proud moment, the boys are really looking forward to it,” said Singh, as quoted by the ICC. “To play at such a high-profile tournament, you need experience, so it’s a blessing in disguise we had the Qualifier to provide that.”

Scotland

Scotland made a lucky entry to the 2026 World Cup after Bangladesh decided not to participate due to dissatisfaction with the ICC for not rescheduling their matches outside India.

The Scottish side was selected as the replacement of Bangladesh based on their Men’s T20I Rankings compared to the seven Associates already in the tournament.

They are in Group C alongside England, the West Indies, Italy and Nepal.

Announcing that the team is ready despite their late call-up, Steve Snell, Cricket Scotland’s Head of Performance, as quoted by the ICC, said, “The coaching staff, selectors and I are all really excited about the squad that has been picked. We feel it’s well-balanced and caters for a lot of different scenarios and challenges that the team will face in India.”

The UAE

Alongside Nepal, it will be the UAE’s third appearance in the Men’s T20 World Cup this time.

They had narrowly missed out in the previous edition, but they became the 20th and final team to secure their spot in the 2026 edition as one of the three teams from the Asia-EAP Regional Qualifier.

“Alishan Sharafu finished as the Qualifier’s leading run scorer, with 283 at an average of 56.60 and an impressive strike-rate of 143.65,” the ICC mentions.

The USA

Of the eight Associates in the 2026 Men’s T20 World Cup, the USA are the only team which did not have to participate in the Qualifier. They had automatically qualified for the 2026 edition as they finished as one of the eight teams in the Super 8 stage of the 2024 edition.

In the previous edition, which the USA co-hosted alongside the Caribbean, they had secured a win over Pakistan.

Aiming to repeat that performance again, head coach Pubudu Dassanayake, as quoted by the ICC, said, “The World Cup squad is strong, balanced, and ready to dominate in every department. We’re fully confident in our team’s potential.”