Associate Nations Shine: Team of the Tournament for the 2026 T20 World Cup

The 2026 T20 World Cup proved to be a tournament where Associate teams delivered outstanding performances, posing a stiff challenge to the full member nations.

Who were the players who shone brightest with their performances in the World Cup? Here is the Team of the Tournament featuring players from Associate nations.

1. Yuvraj Samra (Canada)

(144 runs at an average of 36.00 and a strike rate of 156.52)

The 19-year-old opener became the first Associate batter to score a century against New Zealand in a T20 World Cup. In that brilliant innings, he hit Matt Henry after advancing from the crease, struck James Neesham hard, and sent Mitchell Santner for a boundary. However, apart from that historic 110 runs, he failed to cross the 17-run mark in the other three matches.

2. Shayan Jahangir - Wicketkeeper (USA)

(91 runs at an average of 30.33 and a strike rate of 137.87)

This tournament was not particularly good for Associate wicketkeepers, so Jahangir takes the place of another opener. When six teammates were dismissed for single-digit scores against Pakistan, Jahangir played an innings of 49 runs (one short of a half-century) off 34 balls, giving the USA hope of victory. He freely attacked Shadab Khan, Mohammad Nawaz, and Abrar Ahmed on the spin-friendly SSC pitch. However, he could not maintain the same rhythm in other matches.

3. Bas de Leede (Netherlands)

(158 runs at an average of 52.66; 5 wickets at an average of 19.60)

This all-rounder was one of the best players in the group stage. Batting at number three, he played useful innings of 30 and 33 runs against Pakistan and India, respectively. But his unbeaten 72-run innings against Namibia in Delhi was the best. On that day, he also took 2 wickets for 20 runs in three overs and took three wickets in the loss against the USA.

4. Dipendra Singh Airee (Nepal)

(169 runs at an average of 56.33 and a strike rate of 144.44)

Although Nepal gave a tough fight to England with the help of Lokesh Bam's unbeaten 38 runs, Airee's 44 runs off 29 balls and 2 wickets for 23 runs gave England an early shock on the slow pitch at Wankhede. Then, on a day when other batters struggled against the West Indies, he anchored the innings by scoring 58 runs. He ended the tournament brilliantly by scoring an aggressive unbeaten 50 off 23 balls against Scotland to secure a victory for the team.

5. Gerhard Erasmus - Captain (Namibia)

(7 wickets at an average of 11.85 and an economy of 7.54)

While the Namibian captain and all-rounder did not show much magic with the bat, he performed excellently with the ball, taking 7 wickets. His best performance was taking 4 wickets for 20 runs. Even when India posted a strong total of 209 runs, his bowling variation helped maintain an economy of 5.00. He dismissed Ishan Kishan, Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, and Axar Patel. He took 2 wickets for 27 runs against the USA and 1 wicket for 25 runs against Pakistan.

6. Shubham Ranjane (USA)

(141 runs at an average of 70.50 and a strike rate of 180.76)

Ranjane played several impactful innings against the big teams. When runs were hard to come by against India, he counter-attacked Pandya, Varun Chakaravarthy, and Mohammed Siraj, scoring 37 runs off 22 balls. He then put pressure on the Pakistani team by scoring 51 runs off 30 balls against Pakistan. His 48 runs off 24 balls against the Netherlands helped the USA reach a massive total of 196. His medium-pace bowling also provided the USA with a crucial sixth bowling option.

7. Ben Manenti (Italy)

(138 runs at an average of 46.00; 5 wickets at an average of 20.60)

In Italy's first World Cup campaign, the elder of the Manenti brothers, Ben, proved to be the X-factor. After he conceded only 9 runs in 4 overs and took 2 wickets, Nepal's hopes ended, and Italy secured their first historic World Cup victory. His 60 runs off 25 balls against England kept the opposition under pressure, while his 52 runs off 31 balls against Scotland was another excellent performance. Including the two wickets taken against the West Indies, Ben Manenti's Impact-per-Match rate is the highest in the tournament, according to Cricinfo statistics.

8. Michael Leask (Scotland)

(9 wickets at an average of 13.55 and an economy of 7.62)

Against Italy, Leask played a explosive unbeaten innings of 22 runs off just 5 balls in the 20th over to take the team past 200, and later took 4 wickets for 17 runs with his off-spin. He is not a bowler who turns the ball much, but coming around the wicket, he tied down the right-handed batters, dismissing Harry Brook against England. Leask also took all three wickets against Nepal in Scotland's final match (all right-handed batters).

9. Shadley van Schalkwyk (USA)

(13 wickets at an average of 7.76 and an economy of 6.80)

This right-arm seamer from the USA had a spectacular start to the World Cup. He silenced the Wankhede Stadium by taking 3 wickets in a single over during the powerplay against India, ultimately finishing with 4 wickets for 25 runs. That spell kept India under significant pressure at the innings break. He then took another 4 wickets for 25 runs against Pakistan with the help of hard-length deliveries, forcing batters to play poor shots. He took five more wickets against other Associate teams, totaling 13 wickets in 4 matches, which was the highest wicket tally in the tournament at the time this news was prepared.

10. Aryan Dutt (Netherlands)

(5 wickets at an average of 17.80 and an economy of 6.84)

This off-spinner proved very lethal with the new ball against Pakistan and India, dismantling the top order of both teams. He spun the ball beautifully throughout the World Cup and put Pakistan in trouble by dismissing Ayub and Salman Ali Agha in Colombo. He then contained India's dangerous top order in his 4-over spell by bowling 16 dot balls, dismissing Abhishek Sharma for zero and Ishan Kishan cheaply.

11. Crishan Kalugamage (Italy)

(7 wickets at an average of 16.57 and an economy of 7.73)

Kalugamage's flighted wrist-spin deliveries were very attractive for spin enthusiasts. In Italy's historic first win, he took 3 wickets for just 18 runs in 4 overs, including Rohit Paudel and Dipendra Singh Airee, silencing the Nepali supporters present at Wankhede. Although he proved expensive against England, he dismissed Tom Banton and Sam Curran. He ended the tournament brilliantly by taking 2 wickets for 25 runs against the strong batting lineup of the West Indies (including the wickets of top-scorer Shai Hope and Jason Holder).

12th Player: Michael Jones, Scotland (142 runs at an average of 35.50 and a strike rate of 142)

ESPN Cricinfo