The 2022 T20 World Cup has kicked off with the qualifiers for the Super 12 in Australia, with four of eight teams fighting for the final four spots in the second part of the marquee tournament. Group A see Sri Lanka, Namibia, UAE and the Netherlands compete for the top two places, while Ireland, Scotland, Zimbabwe and West Indies battle for the top two spots in Group B.
Over the eight editions of the competitions, many different teams have made it to the finals of the T20 World Cup. The youngest team in respect to this is Namibia, who are playing their second consecutive tournament. Here, we look at the teams (including Namibia) who have played only two T20 World Cups (or less).
Hong Kong
The Asian country is the only other country before Namibia to play in two consecutive T20 World Cups. They first qualified for the 2014 edition after coming sixth by beating Papua New Guinea in the ICC T20 Qualifier. This was just enough to qualify. In March 2014, Hong Kong beat hosts Bangladesh of the 2014 World Cup by two wickets and with two balls remaining but could not make it to the next stage of the Super 10 having lost the two earlier matches to Afghanistan and Nepal.
They also qualified for the 20176 edition and once again could not go past the first round.
Oman
After the side defeated Namibia in a sudden-death match at the T20 World Cup Qualifiers, Oman was among the top six teams at the qualifiers, thus making it to the 2016 edition. They also made it to the 2021 T20 World Cup but were eliminated in both editions in the first round itself.
Namibia
Underdogs in 2021 and 2022, Namibia qualified for the 2021 edition hosted by India in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) after finishing fourth in the 2019 Men's T20 World Cup Qualifier event in October and November 2019. They lost their first match against Sri Lanka but recorded a historic first-ever win when they beat the Netherlands by six wickets. Their next win over Ireland was even more historic as they qualified for the Super 12 stage of the tournament.
They also won their first Super 12 match for Namibia, they registered another historic win when they beat Scotland by four wickets. Continuing in the same vein, Namibia qualified for the 2022 T20 World Cup and kicked off in style with a victory over Asia Cup champions Sri Lanka.
Nepal
Nepal was the best of the three associate teams on display in Group A of the 2014 edition but lost to Bangladesh meaning they were unable to move out of the first stage. They beat Hong Kong and then Afghanistan, their first since 2004 in any format against their old rivals. It was their only appearance at the tournament.
Kenya
Playing in the inaugural T20 World Cup but not since, former heavyweights Kenya qualified as the finalists of the 2007 World Cricket League Division One tournament alongside Scotland. They played Sri Lanka and New Zealand, losing to both teams.
Papua New Guinea
Another one of the smaller teams from the 2021 T20 World Cup, Papua New Guinea played three matches in the Super 12 qualifiers after having Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, and Oman in their group.
United Arab Emirates
In November, UAE qualified for the 2014 T20 World Cup after finishing fourth in the play-off for third place. but they still qualified for the 2014 ICC World Twenty20, defeating the Netherlands by 10 runs in the quarter-final. They were still unsuccessful in the tournament. They also qualified for the 2022 T20 World Cup first round, losing their opening match to the Netherlands.
