After Bangladesh did not play in the World Cup, Scotland was brought in to replace them, bringing the number of associates to 9. The Netherlands and Italy had surpassed Scotland in the European qualifiers. But after Bangladesh did not play, Scotland got a chance in the World Cup.
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Of the 20 teams participating in the Twenty20 Cricket World Cup, 9 are associate nations. The number of associate nations has reached 9 after Bangladesh was replaced by Scotland after the team withdrew from the World Cup.
The Netherlands and Italy had beaten Scotland in the European qualifiers. But Scotland got a chance in the World Cup after Bangladesh did not play. Nine associate nations also participated in the 2024 Twenty20 World Cup in the United States and the West Indies.
At that time, the number of associate nations increased after Namibia and Uganda beat Test nation Zimbabwe in the African qualifiers. That was also Uganda's first World Cup. Who are the associate nations participating in the World Cup this time?
Italy
This is a new journey for Italian cricket. The team is playing the ICC Twenty20 World Cup for the first time. Italy's journey began with the European regional qualifiers. Italy, which beat France, Isle of Man, Luxembourg and Turkey in the group stage, defeated Romania in the final at home. Italy had won decisively over Scotland and the Netherlands in the main European qualifiers, due to which the team surpassed Jersey in run rate and qualified for the World Cup.
JJ Smuts will also play for the Italy team, which will be captained by Wayne Madsen. He had left for Italy after playing 19 matches for South Africa. Smuts played for Italy for the first time just two weeks ago. Italy will play England, Nepal, Scotland and the West Indies in the group stage.
Canada
Canada played its first Twenty20 World Cup in 2024. The team defeated Test nation Ireland. Canada returned to the World Cup after winning all six matches in the US qualifiers. Canada will play Afghanistan, New Zealand, South Africa and the UAE in the group stage.
Shivam Sharma took 11 wickets in the US qualifiers and was the tournament's leading wicket-taker. Along with him, 22-year-old captain Dilpreet Bajwa will be the players to watch in this World Cup. Before the start of the World Cup, Canada coach Englandon Liburd said, “The players showed extraordinary commitment and concentration during the qualifiers. Now we are fully focused on preparing to compete at the highest level.”
Namibia
Namibia is playing its fourth consecutive Twenty20 World Cup. Zimbabwe and Namibia had made their way to the World Cup through the African qualifiers. After winning three group matches, JJ Smit had an all-round performance in the semi-final against Tanzania. He had scored 61 runs in the first innings and took 3 wickets for 16 runs while bowling.
Namibia had already secured a place in the World Cup before losing to Zimbabwe in the final. Namibia will play in the World Cup under the captaincy of fearless captain Gerhard Erasmus. The Namibian team has 9 players who played in the World Cup two years ago. Jan-Nicole Lofty Eaton was in excellent form in the qualifiers. He took 10 wickets at an average of 6.40.
Nepal
Nepal entered the World Cup by winning all the matches of the Asia-East Asia Pacific qualifiers. After defeating Japan and Kuwait in the group stage, Nepal then won all the matches of the Super Six and was at the top.
Nepal's regularity in winning and losing by a narrow margin is a sign of Nepal. In the qualifiers, Nepal defeated the UAE by 1 run and Qatar by 5 runs. Rohit Poudel is Nepal's captain and Dipendra Singh Airi is the vice-captain. This is Nepal's third participation in the World Cup. The team hopes to advance beyond the group stage this time.
Netherlands
The Netherlands had qualified for the European qualifiers. The Netherlands team was at the top of the table with 3 wins in four matches. The Dutch team is playing the Twenty20 World Cup for the seventh time.
The team had advanced beyond the group stage twice before. Under the captaincy of Scott Edwards, the Netherlands are preparing to play their third consecutive World Cup.
The Netherlands, which is in Group 'A', will face hosts India, Pakistan, Namibia and the United States. Netherlands coach Ryan Cook said, 'Based on the experience of playing in the past few World Cups, the basis of having already played against the teams in our group and the preparation we have done in Sri Lanka and India in the last month, we are confident in our preparations.'
Oman
Oman was second behind Nepal in the Super Six points table of the Asia-East Asia Pacific qualifiers. This had secured Oman's fourth place in the World Cup. Nadeem Khan and Jiten Ramanandi took 11 wickets each in the qualifiers.
Oman will play in this World Cup under the captaincy of Jatinder Singh, who has scored the most runs for Oman.
After Oman qualified for the World Cup, Singh said, "This is a proud moment, the players are eager to play the World Cup. To play such a big tournament, you need experience in the team, we showed that experience in the qualifying stage." Oman, which is in Group 'B', will play against co-hosts Sri Lanka, Australia, Ireland and Zimbabwe.
Scotland
Scotland has been brought in to replace Bangladesh. Scotland did not qualify, but was given a place in the World Cup based on the highest ranking of the teams that did not qualify. Scotland is ranked 14th in the world Twenty20 international rankings. Scotland's ranking is higher than the 7 teams that are playing the World Cup.
Scotland is playing the World Cup for the seventh time. Despite the late invitation to play the World Cup, Cricket Scotland's performance head Steve Snell has said that his team is ready to play the World Cup. He said, "We are very excited about the coaching staff, the selectors and the team that we have been selected."
UAE
UAE qualified for the T20 World Cup for the third time after finishing third in the Super Six points table of the Asia-East Asia Pacific Qualifiers behind Nepal and Oman. Captain Mohammad Wasim's team missed out on the 2024 World Cup after losing to Nepal. However, the UAE qualified for the World Cup again after the qualifiers held in Oman in October.
UAE secured their place in the World Cup after an 8-wicket win over Japan in the final match of the qualifiers. Alishan Sarafu was the highest run-scorer in the qualifiers. He scored 283 runs at an average of 56.60 and a strike rate of 143.65.
America
The United States did not have to go through the qualifiers this time. The team qualified directly for the World Cup after their historic performance on home soil in 2024. The US reached the Super Eights two years ago, defeating Pakistan in the group stage in a Super Over, where the team suffered defeats against South Africa, the West Indies and England. But it was only by reaching the second round that the US secured a place in next season's World Cup.
Stating that they are trying to repeat their performance in the US two years ago, team coach Pubudu Dassanayake said, "The team playing in the World Cup is strong and balanced. Ready to make an impact in all areas. We have full confidence in our team's ability."
