The Super Eight fixtures for the 2026 T20 World Cup were locked in, even with ten matches still to be played in the first round. The explanation lies in logistical planning, but it takes away the competitive edge and uncertainty that usually makes such events exciting.
The T20 World Cup has drawn strong crowds and sustained interest, with several close matches and impressive performances from Associate teams adding to the spectacle. Yet, as the group stage moves towards its conclusion, the remaining fixtures carry limited competitive weight. With the eight Super Eight qualifiers already confirmed, the focus is no longer on final table positions but simply on maintaining rhythm and momentum. That shift is largely a consequence of the pre-seeding system introduced by the ICC over the last two editions.
Under this system, second-round pathways were determined before the tournament began. India were designated A1 for the group stage regardless of their finishing position in the first round, a decision explained as necessary for logistical planning. Australia were fixed as B1, England as C1 and New Zealand as D1, irrespective of where they ended up in their respective groups. Sri Lanka held the B2 slot, West Indies C2, and Pakistan A2. Meanwhile, the United States were A3, with Ireland, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan occupying B3, C3 and D3, respectively. These seedings continued through the tournament, shaping the knockout pathway in advance.
Read more: ICC confirms qualification of 12 teams for 2028 Men’s T20 World Cup
For the Super Eights phase, the ICC had mapped out positions even more specifically. India are X1, England Y1, Australia X2 and New Zealand Y2. West Indies take X3, Pakistan Y3, South Africa X4 and Sri Lanka Y4. If any of these teams failed to qualify, the replacement side simply inherits that slot, as Zimbabwe took over Australia’s spot as X2 after their shock elimination.
The rationale is understandable: A tournament spanning India and Sri Lanka requires detailed planning, from venue preparation and broadcast schedules to ticketing and travel arrangements for supporters. Pre-seeding reduces uncertainty for organisers and stakeholders alike. The pre-seeding, first introduced in the 2024 T20 World Cup in the West Indies and the USA to ensure India played their matches at the prime time back home, has been carried forward to this edition as well, giving fans some sense of predictability.
With cricket driving a mass craze in the country, fans must have the opportunity to book to watch their preferred teams play in advance. Last-minute bookings are often impractical, with air fares and lodging prices surging sharply, making travel purely to watch cricket an expensive commitment. This was evident around the uncertainty of the will-it-won’t-it-go-on India-Pakistan fixture. A round trip from New Delhi to Colombo usually costs around INR 25,000 (USD 275), but once Pakistan’s participation became clear, five days before the match was to take place, prices rose dramatically, nearing four times that amount. The logistical reasoning is therefore easy to understand, but there is also a growing sense that some of the sporting excitement is being diluted.
Three table-toppers in a group? Pre-seedings could lead to lopsided balance
If three of the four table-toppers end up in the same Super Eight group, the imbalance becomes difficult to ignore. A team that has performed strongly through the first round may find itself competing against multiple other group winners simply because of pre-tournament seedings. Meanwhile, another group could appear relatively less competitive. In a structure where league performance is meant to determine advantage, that outcome feels counterintuitive.
The case of Sri Lanka highlights this clearly. They could finish first in their group, but will still enter the Super Eights ranked as a lower seed because the original rankings placed the now-eliminated Australia ahead of them. Zimbabwe, who may finish second, will take the place of B1, so reward for topping the table holds no value. The first round, thus, has become a string of matches that only determine qualification, holding no further significance. The usual tension around finishing first or second fades when the bracket ahead is already mapped out.
The same is also true for the West Indies, who will finish on top of the Group C table after beating England, but have a lower pre-seeding than them. South Africa, who had a pre-seeding of D2, with New Zealand as D1, also finished above the Black Caps in their group.
So how does this impact the current Super Eights fixtures?
The pre-seedings do not account for upsets and unpredictability, which are central to any world tournament. The original Super Eight structure was designed to include two top-seeded teams from the league stage, along with two second-seeded teams in each group. If results had followed rankings, one group would have featured India (A1), Australia (B1), West Indies (C2), and South Africa (D2), while the other would have had Pakistan (A2), Sri Lanka (B2), England (C1), and New Zealand (D1).
Explained: Why Australia's Olympics qualification isn't in trouble yet, despite early T20 World Cup exit
Except for Australia, the other teams have qualified as expected, but the positions in which they finished their groups have changed significantly. India topped their table, but the other three groups all produced what would normally be considered upsets. West Indies and South Africa, originally second seeds in their respective groups, ended up finishing first and Sri Lanka could well do the same. Under a performance-based system, that shift would have reshaped the Super Eight balance. Under pre-seeding, it does not.
As per the fixed schedule, India, West Indies, South Africa and Zimbabwe will now be placed in the same Super Eight group. That effectively means one of the three teams that topped their league stage will be eliminated before the semi-finals. In contrast, the other Super Eight group will feature three teams that finished second in their respective first-round groups, which gives Sri Lanka, at least on paper, a relatively smoother pathway.
The issue is not that strong teams face each other. That is inevitable in later stages of any tournament. The concern is that league performance has not meaningfully influenced the difficulty of the next round. When topping the group can still lead to a tougher bracket than finishing second elsewhere, the incentive becomes minute.
On the other hand, the semi-final games present a stark contrast: Sri Lanka, despite being co-hosts, are not guaranteed a semi-final unless Pakistan, who are playing all their matches in the country due to a pre-decided political agreement, reach there. If Pakistan do not progress, that knockout match shifts to India, even if it involves Sri Lanka.
If so much has already been predetermined for the Super Eights, it is reasonable to ask why the same clarity was not extended to Sri Lanka. One option could have been to confirm a semi-final in Colombo regardless of which teams qualify, with Sri Lanka getting an opportunity to play a home semi-final, should they reach that stage. Instead, the current system leaves them in an unusual position. Sri Lanka have played their entire campaign at home so far, yet if they qualify for the semi-finals, they will travel to India for that match. With Pakistan and Sri Lanka in the same Super Eights group, Sri Lanka will not play Pakistan in the semis, and so, will not play the semi-final at home.
Past multi-host tournaments have typically taken a different approach. In the 2015 ODI World Cup, co-hosts New Zealand were allocated a semi-final in Auckland irrespective of opponents. In 2011, co-hosts Bangladesh staged quarter-finals of the ODI World Cup, while Sri Lanka hosted a semi-final, with one semi-final and the final in India. The same was the case in 1996 as well, when India hosted both semis, with Pakistan keeping the finals of the 50-over World Cup.
None of this dismisses the reasoning offered by the ICC for the pre-seedings, about logistical concerns. The question is not if it makes sense, but is one of fairness and whether it should matter more than performance.
Follow Wisden for all cricket updates, including live scores, match stats, quizzes and more. Stay up to date with the latest cricket news, player updates, team standings, match highlights, video analysis and live match odds.
