At least one team from Group D will be leaving the sub-continent most likely disappointed, having not progressed past the group stage. Such is the quality of the teams competing out of this pool.
Of all four ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 groups, Group D is the only one featuring three sides from the Rankings’ current top 10; New Zealand (4th), South Africa (5th) and Afghanistan (10th), who of course made a magic run to the semi-finals two years ago in the tournament’s last edition.
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Afghanistan famously progressed, denying the Black Caps a spot in the T20 World Cup’s next phase. The grudge match should be fascinating.
Canada and the UAE are no easy-beats either, and they will be desperate to prove their worth at the World Cup.
But despite the Proteas and Black Caps’ neck-and-neck rankings, this group runs through South Africa until further notice. They were finalists at the last edition, going down to India.
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And despite going down to the Indians in a recent warm-up contest, the Proteas look every bit the contender they were two years ago.
Here is the lay of the land in Group D.
Group D Teams
South Africa, New Zealand, Afghanistan, UAE, Canada
One Player to Watch
Mitchell Santner (New Zealand)
We might be looking back and wondering whether anyone in Group D had more impact than the Kiwis captain.
Known more for his restrictive orthodox bowling (an economy of 4.81 across 124 T20Is), it was his lower order batting that recently caught the eye in New Zealand’s five-game series with India. In five digs, the 34-year-old smashed a total of 105 runs off 65 balls (161.5 strike rate), clearing the rope at will. He often arrived at the crease with his side under immense pressure, but never wilted.
If he leads and bowls to his usual standard, plus plays a few innings-finishing cameos with the bat like he has been asked to recently, and digs his team out of a hole, it’s hard to imagine anyone leaves more of an imprint on Group D than the Hamilton product.
Group D Squads
South Africa: Aiden Markram (c), Corbin Bosch, Dewald Brevis, Quinton de Kock, Marco Jansen, George Linde, Keshav Maharaj, Kwena Maphaka, David Miller, Lungi Ngidi, Anrich Nortje, Kagiso Rabada, Ryan Rickelton, Jason Smith, Tristan Stubbs
The Proteas are one team with genuine T20 World Cup winning claims. It’s also not inconceivable that South Africa’s recent ICC World Test Championship success has helped ease the pressure on this team, given the well-publicised trophy drought that had previously followed them and loomed large at tournaments.
Arguably the best cricketing nation yet to win a Men’s T20 World Cup, alongside – coincidentally – Group D rivals New Zealand, the Proteas will be hoping to go one better than their efforts in the USA and Caribbean two years ago where they finished as runner-up to India. And that was their first time reaching the T20 World Cup final.
Aiden Markram will captain at team littered with hard hitters and quality bowlers. But veteran Quinton de Kock hasn’t lost a step and looks a pivotal piece of their batting plans. Three of his last five T20I innings, against top-line competition, have yielded scores of 115 (v West Indies), 65 (v India) and 90 (v India).
The luxury the Proteas possess, unlike most opponents, is a batting lineup stacked with game-wreckers.
If there are any lingering doubts, it’s the spin bowling options behind Keshav Maharaj, given the spinning necessity the subcontinental conditions will demand.
But it’s widely believed this South Africa team will put up one huge fight this World Cup.
New Zealand: Mitchell Santner (c), Finn Allen, Michael Bracewell, Mark Chapman, Devon Conway, Jacob Duffy, Lockie Ferguson, Matt Henry, Kyle Jamieson, Daryl Mitchell, James Neesham, Glenn Phillips, Rachin Ravindra, Tim Seifert, Ish Sodhi
After a loss to Afghanistan, along with some weather misfortune, buried their hopes in 2024, the Kiwis will be on high alert from the very start of their T20 World Cup campaign. And they better be; they’ve drawn who else but Afghanistan first up, in a heavyweight contest straight off the bat.
The aforementioned Santner will lead a side that features plenty of hitting, like the Proteas, plus some quality slow bowling options that could end up being the advantage that carries them deeper than two years ago.
Remember when Lockie Ferguson became the first player in T20 World Cup history in 2024 to bowl four maiden overs? New Zealand would love a bit more of that magic this tournament.
Afghanistan: Rashid Khan (c), Noor Ahmad, Abdullah Ahmadzai, Sediqullah Atal, Fazal Haq Farooqi, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Naveen Ul Haq, Mohammad Ishaq Rahimi, Shahidullah Kamal, Mohammad Nabi, Gulbadin Naib, Azmatullah Omarzai, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Darwish Rasooli, Ibrahim Zadran. Reserves: AM Ghazanfar, Ijaz Ahmad Ahmadzai, Zia Ur Rahman Sharifi
Any team that takes Afghanistan lightly will be quickly put in their place. Not only did they beat New Zealand at the last T20 World Cup, as has been mentioned, but their victory over Australia set up their epic run to the semi-final stage.
This team will be buoyed by their campaign two years ago, even more ready for the big moments this tournament will throw at them, and go into every group game entirely unafraid of the opposition side.
Rahmanullah Gurbaz features again, after finishing as the top run-scorer at the 2024 T20 World Cup (281 runs). And an Afghanistan player also topped that tournament’s wicket tally, with Fazalhaq Farooqi claiming 17 scalps along with India’s Ashdeep Singh to share the spoils.
Ibrahim Zadran is currently Afghanistan’s top-ranked T20I batter, moving up three spots this week to enter the tournament in 11th spot, four spots ahead of Gurbaz.
Rashid Khan captains what is a squad stacked with quality. Rashid will spearhead their spin bowling ranks along with Mujeeb Ur Rahman; they’re two of the best spinners on the globe.
UAE: Muhammad Waseem (c), Alishan Sharafu, Aryansh Sharma, Dhruv Parashar, Haider Ali, Harshit Kaushik, Junaid Siddique, Mayank Kumar, Muhammad Arfan, Muhammad Farooq, Muhammad Jawadullah, Muhammad Zohaib, Rohid Khan, Sohaib Khan, Simranjeet Singh
The United Arab Emirates are as strong as ever, entering their third T20 World Cup and looking to at least double up on their tournament wins; their one victory coming against Namibia in 2022.
The UAE beat Bangladesh in a series last May to help illustrate their steady improvement on the world stage.
It’s all eyes on Muhammad Waseem their captain, whose resume stacks up against anyone on the world stage. The soon-to-be 32-year-old has struck the second-most sixes in T20I history (190), behind only Rohit Sharma (205).
Waseem was the third-fastest all time to 2,500 T20I runs (67 innings) behind only Pakistani pair Babar Azam (62) and Mohammad Rizwan (65). He also has the 5th-most T20I hundreds (three) and 7th-most career T20I fifties (28).
If the UAE can cause any World Cup havoc in Group D, their history-chasing captain will be a central figure.
Canada: Dilpreet Bajwa (c), Ajayveer Hundal, Ansh Patel, Dilon Heyliger, Harsh Thaker, Jaskarandeep Singh, Kaleem Sana, Kanwarpal Tathgur, Navneet Dhaliwal, Nicholas Kirton, Ravinderpal Singh, Saad Bin Zafar, Shivam Sharma, Shreyas Movva, Yuvraj Samra
Canada are back, after being a T20 World Cup debutant two years ago. They claimed a win in their first ever tournament match too, downing Ireland.
They went unbeaten through this cycle’s qualification, winning all six of their Americas Regional contests, including the Final.
Dilpreet Bajwa, who has been a crucial cog in their qualifying journey, has taken over the captaincy from Nicholas Kirton who also remains an important piece in their upcoming campaign.
Their tournament kicks off on February 10 against South Africa.
