T20 World Cup Groups Detailed: From 'Group of Death' to Nepal's 'Dark Horse' Status

Kathmandu. The T20 World Cup is set to commence on February 7. Twenty teams are participating in this ICC mega-event, divided into 4 different groups.

The most discussed aspect of the tournament is the 'Group of Death.' This time, Group 'D' has earned that tag. It includes the former runner-up South Africa, the 2021 runner-up New Zealand, and Afghanistan, a semi-finalist in the previous edition.

In Group 'A', rivals like India and Pakistan are present, while in Group 'C', two-time champions England and West Indies will face each other.

Group A: America has already defeated Pakistan

Group 'A' features rival teams such as defending champions India and Pakistan. Netherlands, USA, and Namibia are also part of this group. Although India and Pakistan are considered strong contenders on paper, the USA caused the biggest upset of the tournament in the previous T20 World Cup by defeating Pakistan.

The American team, playing its first World Cup in 2024, created history by defeating the 2009 champions Pakistan in a Super Over. Therefore, underestimating any team in Group 'A' could prove costly. Netherlands has also defeated teams like South Africa in the World Cup.

Teams in Group 'A':

• India: Suryakumar Yadav (Captain), Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma, Sanju Samson, Shivam Dube, Ishan Kishan, Hardik Pandya, Arshdeep Singh, Jasprit Bumrah, Harshit Rana, Varun Chakaravarthy, Kuldeep Yadav, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, and Rinku Singh.
• Pakistan: Salman Ali Agha (Captain), Abrar Ahmed, Babar Azam, Fahim Ashraf, Fakhar Zaman, Khawaja Mohammad Nafe, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Salman Mirza, Naseem Shah, Sahibzada Farhan, Saim Ayub, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Shadab Khan, Usman Khan, and Usman Tariq.
• USA: Monank Patel (Captain), Jessy Singh (Vice-Captain), Andries Gous, Shehan Jayasuriya, Milind Kumar, Shayan Jahangir, Saiteja Mukkamalla, Sanjay Krishnamurthy, Harmeet Singh, Nosthush Kenjige, Shadley Van Schalkwyk, Saurabh Netravalkar, Ali Khan, Mohammad Mohsin, and Shubham Ranjane.
• Netherlands: Scott Edwards (Captain), Colin Ackermann, Noah Croes, Bas de Leede, Aryan Dutt, Fred Klaassen, Kyle Klein, Michael Levitt, Jack Leaning-Cassett, Max O'Dowd, Logan van Beek, Tim van der Gugten, Roelof van der Merwe, Paul van Meekeren, and Saqib Zulfiqar.
• Namibia: Gerhard Erasmus (Captain), Zane Green, Bernard Scholtz, Ruben Trumpelmann, JJ Smit, Jan Frylinck, Laurent Steynkamp, Malan Kruger, Nicol Loftie-Eaton, Jack Brassel, Ben Shikongo, Jesse Buit, Dylan Leicher, WP Myburgh, and Max Hogan.

Group B: Australia and Sri Lanka Expected to Qualify

Group 'B' includes Australia, Sri Lanka, Ireland, Oman, and Zimbabwe. Australia appears to be the strongest contender; this team is known for performing well under pressure in major tournaments. Similarly, the 2014 winner Sri Lanka is almost certain to qualify for the Super-8 by playing on home ground.

Besides these, teams like Ireland, Oman, and Zimbabwe are also in this group. Ireland and Zimbabwe have previously handed defeats to big teams, and Oman has also been performing well in the short format.

Teams in Group 'B':

• Australia: Mitchell Marsh (Captain), Xavier Bartlett, Cooper Connolly, Tim David, Ben Dwarshuis, Cameron Green, Nathan Ellis, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Matt Kuhnemann, Glenn Maxwell, Matt Renshaw, Marcus Stoinis, and Adam Zampa.
• Sri Lanka: Dasun Shanaka (Captain), Pathum Nissanka, Kamil Mishara, Kusal Mendis, Kusal Perera, Charith Asalanka, Kamindu Mendis, Janith Liyanage, Pawan Ratnayake, Dunith Wellalage, Wanindu Hasaranga, Maheesh Theekshana, Dushmantha Chameera, Matheesha Pathirana, and Ishan Malinga.
• Ireland: Paul Stirling (Captain), Mark Adair, Ross Adair, Ben Calcott, Curtis Campher, Gareth Delany, George Dockrell, Matthew Humphreys, Josh Little, Barry McCarthy, Harry Tector, Tim Tector, Lorcan Tucker, Ben White, and Craig Young.
• Zimbabwe: Sikandar Raza (Captain), Brian Bennett, Ryan Burl, Graeme Cremer, Bradley Evans, Clive Madande, Tinotenda Maphosa, Tadiwanashe Marumani, Wellington Masakadza, Tony Munyonga, Tashinga Mupsekwa, Blessing Muzarabani, Dion Myers, Richard Ngarava, and Brendon Taylor.
• Oman: Jatinder Singh (Captain), Vinayak Shukla, Mohammad Nadeem, Shakil Ahmed, Hammad Mirza, Wasim Ali, Karan Sonawale, Shah Faisal, Nadeem Khan, Sufyan Mahmood, Jay Odedra, Shafiq Jan, Ashish Odedra, Jiten Ramanandi, and Hasnain Ali Shah.

Group C: Nepal as a 'Dark Horse' Team

Group 'C' features two-time champions England and West Indies. Nepal can be called the 'dark horse' of the group stage. After the previous T20 World Cup, Nepal played 24 T20 Internationals, winning 16 and losing 5, with the remaining matches being a tie or no-result.

Between 2024 and October 2025, Nepal secured two victories in the series against the USA, and surprised everyone by defeating a strong team like West Indies by 19 and 90 runs in two matches in Sharjah. The team will now face West Indies once again.

Scotland has been included in Group 'C' after Bangladesh was eliminated from the T20 World Cup. This group now includes Scotland, England, West Indies, Nepal, and Italy. Italy has qualified for an ICC tournament for the first time.

Matches between England and Scotland in Group 'C' are always high-voltage. In 2018, Scotland caused a major upset by defeating England by 6 runs in an ODI. Similarly, Scotland defeated West Indies in the 2022 World Cup.

Teams in Group 'C':

• England: Harry Brook (Captain), Rehan Ahmed, Jofra Archer, Tom Banton, Jacob Bethell, Jos Buttler, Sam Curran, Liam Dawson, Ben Duckett, Will Jacks, Jamie Overton, Adil Rashid, Phil Salt, Josh Tongue, and Luke Wood.
• West Indies: Shai Hope (Captain), Shimron Hetmyer, Johnson Charles, Roston Chase, Matthew Forde, Jason Holder, Akeal Hosein, Shamar Joseph, Brandon King, Gudakesh Motie, Rovman Powell, Sherfane Rutherford, Quinton Sampson, Jaden Seales, and Romario Shepherd.
• Nepal: Rohit Paudel (Captain), Dipendra Singh Airee, Sandeep Lamichhane, Kushal Malla, Asif Sheikh, Sandeep Jora, Arif Sheikh, Basir Ahmed, Sompal Kami, Karan KC, Nandan Yadav, Gulshan Jha, Lalit Rajbanshi, Sher Malla, and Lokesh Bam.
• Scotland: Richie Berrington (Captain), Tom Bruce, Matthew Cross, Bradley Currie, Oliver Davidson, Chris Greaves, Zeeshan Maqsood, Michael Jones, Michael Leask, Finlay Macreath, Brandon McMullen, George Munsey, Safyaan Sharif, Mark Watt, Bradley Wheel. (Reserve Players: Jasper Davidson and Jack Jarvis).
• Italy: Wayne Madsen (Captain), Marcus Campopiano, Gian Piero Meade, Zain Ali, Ali Hasan, Christian George, Harry Manty, Anthony Mosca, Justin Mosca, Syed Naqvi, Benjamin Manti, Jaspreet Singh, JJ Smuts, Grant Stewart, and Thomas Drake.

Group D: The Most Unpredictable Group

Group 'D' includes experienced teams like South Africa and New Zealand, who have experience playing in the T20 World Cup final. South Africa is the former runner-up, while New Zealand played the 2021 final.

Furthermore, the presence of Afghanistan in this group makes the matches more exciting. In 2024, the Afghan team surprised everyone by reaching the semi-finals. The team suffered a defeat against South Africa.

Teams in Group 'D':

• South Africa: Aiden Markram (Captain), Corbin Bosch, Dewald Brevis, Quinton de Kock, Marco Jansen, George Linde, Keshav Maharaj, Kwena Maphaka, David Miller, Lungi Ngidi, Anrich Nortje, Kagiso Rabada, Ryan Rickelton, Jason Smith, Tristan Stubbs.
• New Zealand: Mitchell Santner (Captain), Finn Allen, Michael Bracewell, Mark Chapman, Devon Conway, Jacob Duffy, Lockie Ferguson, Matt Henry, Kyle Jamieson, Daryl Mitchell, James Neesham, Glenn Phillips, Rachin Ravindra, Tim Seifert, Ish Sodhi.
• Afghanistan: Rashid Khan (Captain), Noor Ahmad, Abdullah Ahmadzai, Sediqullah Atal, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Naveen ul Haq, Mohammad Ishaq, Shahiduallah Kamal, Mohammad Nabi, Gulbadin Naib, Azmatullah Omarzai, Mujeeb ur Rahman, Darwish Rasooli, and Ibrahim Zadran.
• Canada: Dilpreet Bajwa (Captain), Ajayveer Hundal, Ansh Patel, Dillon Heyliger, Harsh Thaker, Jaskaranndeep Buttar, Kaleem Sana, Kanwarpal Tathgur, Navneet Dhaliwal, Nicholas Kirton, Ravinderpal Singh, Saad Bin Zafar, Shayam Sharma, Shreyas Movva, and Yuvraj Samra.
• UAE: Muhammad Waseem (Captain), Ali Shan Sharafu, Aryansh Sharma, Dhruv Parashar, Haider Ali, Harshith Kaushik, Junaid Siddiqui, Mayank Kumar, Muhammad Arfan, Muhammad Farooq, Muhammad Jawadullah, Muhammad Zohaib, Rohan Khan, Shoaib Khan, and Simranjit Singh.