What are Pakistan and New Zealand's chances for automatic qualification in the 2026 T20 World Cup?

NEW DELHI: The two major teams, Pakistan and New Zealand, experienced early exits from the ongoing 2024 T20 World Cup, failing to reach the Super 8s.
Pakistan were eliminated after the match between the USA and Ireland was washed out at Lauderhill in Florida, while New Zealand failed to advance following Afghanistan's seven-wicket win over Papua New Guinea.
Teams reaching in the Super 8s will get a direct entry into the T20 World Cup in 2026. The 2026 T20 World Cup is scheduled to be hosted by Sri Lanka and India from February 8 to March 8 in 2026.
Will Pakistan and New Zealand, who were eliminated in the early stage of the mega event, qualify for the 2026 T20 World Cup?
As per the qualification rules, 12 out of the 20 teams will automatically qualify for the next edition of the T20 World Cup.

The hosts, India and Sri Lanka, along with all Super 8 teams, will gain direct entry.
India, having already reached the Super 8s from Group A in the 2024 T20 World Cup, fulfills the criteria under two different categories.
South Africa (Group D), West Indies, Afghanistan (Group C), Australia (Group B), and the USA (Group A) have also secured their spots in the 2026 edition by making it to the Super 8 stage.
The remaining spot from Group D will be taken by either Bangladesh or Netherlands, while Scotland and England are competing for the final Super 8 position from Group B.
In total, nine teams, including Sri Lanka, will qualify directly, and three more will join them based on their ICC Men's T20I rankings as of June 30th, 2024.

Currently, Pakistan hold the seventh position with 241 rating points, and New Zealand, who also faced an early exit, are sixth with 247 points.
These two teams are significantly ahead of other contenders such as Bangladesh (9th, 226 points), Ireland (11th, 195 points), Scotland (12th, 192 points), Zimbabwe (13th, 192 points), Namibia (14th, 189 points), Netherlands (15th, 185 points), UAE (16th, 176 points), Nepal (18th, 170 points), Oman (19th, 163 points), PNG (20th, 145 points), Uganda (21st, 135 points), Hong Kong (22nd, 135 points), and Canada (23rd, 129 points).
The remaining eight spots will be filled through the ICC's regional qualification pathway, with two each from Europe, Asia, and Africa, and one each from the East Asia Pacific and Americas regions.
In the current edition, the eight teams that qualified through the pathway processes were Ireland and Scotland (Europe), Nepal and Oman (Asia), Namibia and Uganda (Africa), Canada (Americas), and Papua New Guinea (East Asia Pacific). The USA secured their place by being the joint hosts.