The Italy cricket team made history by qualifying for the 2026 Men’s T20 World Cup, scheduled to be held in India and Sri Lanka. They achieved the feat after performing well at the 2025 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup Europe Regional Final, held in The Hague.

Italy’s Debut in World Cup Matches

It will be the first-ever World Cup event for Italy, which has been an associate member of the International Cricket Council (ICC) since 1995. Interestingly, they were led by former Australian batter Joe Burns, who will look to help the side remain calm under pressure in the ICC event owing to his experience.

𝑮𝒍𝒐𝒓𝒚 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑨𝒛𝒛𝒖𝒓𝒓𝒊 🤩

Italy will make their first-ever appearance in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 🙌#T20WorldCup pic.twitter.com/sqN3ICFVfH

— ICC (@ICC) July 11, 2025

How Italy Cricket Team Pulled off T20 World Cup 2026 Qualification?

Italy entered the tournament due to their impressive performances in the 2024 Men’s T20 World Cup Europe Sub-regional Qualifier A. They won the tournament after beating Romania by 160 runs. The 2025 Men’s T20 World Cup Europe Regional Final witnessed the participation of five teams – Netherlands, Italy, Jersey, Scotland and Guernsey. With a single round-robin format in place, all teams were scheduled to play four games, one against each team.

vs Guernsey

In their first game, the Italy cricket team locked horns with Guernsey. Invited to bat first, Guernsey were off to a mediocre start, losing two wickets inside the powerplay. They managed to end on 122/9, with Tom Nightingale (35) emerging as the top batter. Vice-captain Harry Manenti was the pick of the bowlers for Italy with figures of 3/17. Thereafter, Italy lost their experienced batter Emilio Gay (8) early. However, Justin Mosca (66*) and Joe Burns (30) ensured the side sealed the chase with six overs to spare.

Joe Burns pens a heartfelt message after Italy’s fairytale #T20WorldCup qualification ✍️

More on Italy’s historic feat ➡️ https://t.co/rdTHHVs76D pic.twitter.com/KnQXXjE6pk

— ICC (@ICC) July 12, 2025

Unfortunately, Italy’s next game against Jersey was abandoned due to persistent rain. In their third fixture, the Burns-led side won the toss and opted to bat first against Scotland. Although Mosca (11) and Burns (8) failed, Gay (50), Manenti (38) and Grant Stewart (44*) helped the Italian side to post a 167-run total.

vs Netherlands

Then, the Scottish outfit was off to a bad start, as they were two down in the power play. George Munsey (72) and skipper Richie Berrington (46*) did the heavy-lifting, but Scotland ended on 155/5 and lost the game by 12 runs. The victory put Italy in a sweet spot to become one of the qualified teams for T20 World Cup. Ahead of the final game of the competition, Italy had the same wins as Jersey, but possessed a better net run rate. They had to avoid losing by a huge margin against the Netherlands to ensure their T20 World Cup 2026 qualification. Italy’s decision to bat first backfired as they lost both their openers in the first three overs. Although Joe Burns (22) was starting to look good, he also perished in the seventh over.

Ben Manenti (30), Grant Stewart (25) and Harry Manenti (23) contributed to propelling Italy to a respectable 134-run total. The Italy cricket team needed to prevent the Dutch side from sealing the chase under 15 overs to qualify for the ICC event. Michael Levitt (34) and Max O’Dowd got the Netherlands to a superb start, with their 71-run stand. Then, skipper Scott Edwards (37*) and O’Dowd (47) remained unbeaten and took the team home in 16.2 overs.

Although the Italy cricket team failed to win the game, they maintained a net run rate of 0.612 to end second in the tournament. Meanwhile, Jersey finished third with a net run rate of 0.306. As a result, the Netherlands and Italy were the two qualified teams for T20 World Cup after the completion of the tournament.

Netherlands and Italy with memorable Europe Regional Final campaigns to lock their place in the Men’s #T20WorldCup 2026 🔐

More ➡️ https://t.co/rdTHHVs76D pic.twitter.com/SCapg51wbk

— ICC (@ICC) July 12, 2025

Italy’s Best Rankings in International Cricket

As per the latest ICC T20I rankings, Italy is positioned in the 28th spot, with 1,619 points in 14 games. They reaped the rewards of their hard work in the 2025 Men’s T20 World Cup Europe Regional Final by jumping four places in the rankings.

Wikipedia claims that their best-ever rank of 22 came in 2019, which may be possible as the ICC awarded T20I status to all its members in 2018. The Italy cricket team featured in their first T20I game in May 2019 against Germany, where they won by seven wickets. They produced impressive performances by emerging as the champions of the 2022 ICC T20 World Cup Europe Qualifier A, which was part of the qualification process for the 2024 T20 World Cup.

However, with three wins in six games of the Regional Final in 2023, Italy ended third on the table. As a result, they failed to be among the qualified teams for T20 World Cup in 2024.

Pathways to qualify for T20 World Cup

After Italy and the Netherlands’ qualification, a total of 15 teams have qualified for the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026. The co-hosts, India and Sri Lanka, directly qualified for the 2026 T20 World Cup. The next 10 teams are decided on the basis of the Super Eight qualifiers in the 2024 T20 World Cup and the T20I rankings.

The remaining eight teams are decided by the regional qualifiers. Each regional qualifier consists of sub-regional qualifiers and the regional final. With a total of 20 participants in the 2026 T20 World Cup, three slots are assigned for Africa, three for the Americas, 10 for Asia and East Asia-Pacific and four for Europe.The Asia–East Asia-Pacific Qualifier will witness the qualification of three teams, while two teams will make the cut through the Africa Qualifier.