Afghanistan made history by qualifying for the T20 World Cup semifinals for the first-time last night in St. Vincent. Afghanistan beat Bangladesh in a do-or-die match of the Super 8s stage to advance to the next round. Notably, Afghanistan did not play in the first two editions of the mega event, which happened in 2007 and 2009.
The Afghan outfit made its debut in the 2010 T20 WC, and they never made it to the semifinals despite playing in each edition of the T20 WC played after 2010. The streak finally came to an end last night. There are five teams now which have played in more than five T20 World Cups, but they have never qualified for the semifinals.
1. Bangladesh have never qualified for T20 World Cup semifinals
Bangladesh have played in all nine editions of the T20 WC. However, the Tigers have never made it to the final four. They needed just one win against Pakistan to qualify in 2022, but they failed. Similarly, in 2024, they could have qualified by Afghanistan by a big margin, but they failed again.
2. Ireland have never qualified for T20 World Cup semifinals
Ireland made their T20 WC debut in 2009. The Irish team has participated in every edition played since then, but they have never made it to the final four. The closest Ireland came was in 2009 only, when they surprised everyone by qualifying for Super 8s.
3. Netherlands
Netherlands have been a part of six editions of the T20 WC so far. The Dutch team’s best finish was in 2014, when they made it to the Super 10s. They have never been close to reaching semifinals in any of the tournaments.
4. Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe surprised everyone by defeating Australia in their first-ever T20 World Cup appearance. However, they have been quite inconsistent, and in 2024, they could not even make it to the mega event in USA and West Indies.
5. Scotland
Scotland also made their debut in 2007. They played in the most recent edition of the mega event as well. The Scots’ best performance came in 2021, when they made it to the Super 12s round in the Gulf region.
