The T20 World Cup 2026 is quickly reaching the end of its business, and the Super 8s have already begun. The first match between Pakistan and New Zealand was called off due to rain in Colombo on Saturday, but the focus will soon shift to the next two matches – England vs Sri Lanka and India vs South Africa. However, the International Cricket Council (ICC) is facing the wrath of fans on social media, with ardent supporters making their voices heard and letting the apex body know that they are not impressed with the pre-ranking of the Super 8s.
The pre-seeding process ensured that all the top teams in the group stage would join Group A of the Super 8s tournament, which includes India, Zimbabwe, West Indies and South Africa. On the other hand, the other group includes all the teams that finished second in their groups: England, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, and New Zealand.
Amid the ongoing controversy, former India captain Sunil Gavaskar commented that there is no reason for people to ask questions now, given the passage of time. He said if people had concerns, they should have reported them before the tournament started, when the schedule was announced.
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He also said that there are many logistical issues involved in organizing an international tournament, which may explain the pre-ranking format.
“Why was this brought up now? Why wasn’t this matter raised before the tournament started? These are the questions that need to be asked to people who are raising these points now. “The reason I can think of, and maybe the ICC can explain it better, is that the logistics, the tournament is being played in two countries,” Gavaskar told India Today.
“There’s international travel, there’s immigration, there’s customs, all these things have to be taken care of. There’s still the issue of flight and hotel bookings; not every team travels with the same number of people. Some teams travel with a support staff of 15 people, so maybe they need 35-40 rooms. Some teams may travel with 20-22 people altogether, so they may need less rooms. All these things have to be taken into account, and maybe that’s why.” “Pre-sowing has been done,” he added.
“Explanation before sowing”
Before the start of the T20 World Cup, the ICC had allocated fixed slots for both Super 8s. The pre-ranking is done well before the start of the tournament, based on the ranking of the top eight teams in the T20Is.
South Africa were the leaders in Group D, but were treated as lower seeds because New Zealand were ranked higher.
Across different sports, global event formats are shaped to ensure group winners are rewarded, but this latest format created by the International Cricket Council will do the opposite as two of the best teams in the group stage of the Super 8s will be eliminated, considering all the table tops are combined together (India, South Africa, Zimbabwe and West Indies).
Fans in Sri Lanka are the most vocal, voicing their concerns against the format. Despite playing their group stage matches in Sri Lanka, the island nation may have to play their semi-finals in India if they reach the semi-finals.
