No South Africa as Michael Vaughan names T20 World Cup 2026 semi-finalists

Former England captain Michael Vaughan predicted India, England, New Zealand and Australia as his picks for the semi-finals of the T20 World Cup 2026, which is scheduled to start from February 7. Notably, Vaughan left out South Africa, who reached the semi-finals in the last edition of the tournament. 

Sharing his prediction on X on Monday, Vaughan wrote, “My 4 T20 World Cup semi finalists will be … India, England, NZ & Australia.” The upcoming tournament will follow the same format used in the 2024 T20 World Cup. It will feature nine of the top 10-ranked T20I teams. Bangladesh, however, will not be part of the event after the ICC replaced them with Scotland. Bangladesh reportedly declined to travel to India for their group matches due to ongoing political issues.

The group stage will have four groups of five teams each, with every team playing the others once. The top two teams from each group will move into the Super 8 stage.

Based on ICC seedings, the eight qualified teams will be divided into two Super 8 groups. From there, the top two teams in each group will progress to the semi-finals.

India's T20 World Cup 2026 Group Stage

Defending champions India are placed in Group A along with Pakistan, Netherlands, Namibia and the USA. India will open their campaign against the USA on February 7, followed by matches against Namibia on February 12 and Netherlands on February 18. Their much-anticipated clash against Pakistan is scheduled for February 15 in Colombo, but the game is uncertain after the Pakistan government announced a possible boycott. If Pakistan pull out, India will receive a walkover.

England T20 World Cup 2026 Group Stage

England are drawn in Group C and will face Nepal on February 8, West Indies on February 11, Scotland on February 14 and Italy on February 16.

Australia's T20 World Cup 2026 Group Stage

Australia are in Group B, where they will take on Ireland (February 11), Zimbabwe (February 13), Sri Lanka (February 16) and Oman (February 20).

New Zealand's T20 World Cup 2026 Group Stage

New Zealand find themselves in a challenging Group D alongside Afghanistan, UAE, South Africa and Canada. Their fixtures include Afghanistan on February 8, UAE on February 10, South Africa on February 14 and Canada on February 17.