East Asia-Pacific Qualifier in Japan confirmed, though T20 World Cup path unclear

Japan’s new cricket facility in Aichi Prefecture will co-host a nine-team ICC Men’s T20 World Cup East Asia-Pacific Qualifier alongside the Sano International Cricket Ground.

The tournament in May also doubles up as a compulsory Asian Games test event for the facility, about 25 kilometres east of the centre of Nagoya.

With no East Asia-Pacific Associate qualifier for the 2026 T20 World Cup, sub-regional qualifying would have contained a uneven 4/5 split between north and south regions. Papua New Guinea, who had an automatic spot in the combined Asia/East Asia-Pacific Qualifier in the last cycle thanks to their 2024 T20 World Cup participation, move back in at the same stage as the rest of the teams in the region.

Emerging Cricket can also reveal that the tournament format will match that of the combined Asia/East Asia-Pacific Final Qualifier from the 2026 T20 World Cup cycle, with three groups of three, and the top two of each group moving to a Super Six stage. It is understood that the eliminated teams will stay in Japan to play out a tri-series, ensuring that all sides on the tour will play at least six matches.

Points against other progressing teams will carry over, though there has been no decision as to whether the region will regain an automatic qualification spot for the 2028 edition of the tournament.

Multiple boards in the region have told this masthead they are unaware if the tournament will be the only step on the World Cup journey, or if they’ll move to a second qualifier on the road to the 2028 tournament.

With the 2028 edition to be held in Australia and New Zealand, it’s understood there is a push for confirmed Associate EAP representation, though a decision on the matter will likely be handed down after the 2026 event in India and Sri Lanka.

There have also been calls from other regions for the return of a global qualifier, with boards in several regions unhappy by the current allocation and coefficients in place.

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