AFG vs UAE T20 World Cup 2026: The group stage of the T20 World Cup (ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026) is at its crucial juncture and the equation of the points table is changing with every match. Some teams from Group-A and Group-B have reached Super-8, but the picture in Group-C and Group-D is still not completely clear. Meanwhile, everyone’s eyes are on the match being played between Afghanistan and United Arab Emirates at Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi on Monday (16 February).
Actually, Afghanistan has performed strongly in T20 cricket in the last few years and this time too there were big expectations from it. However, the beginning of the tournament made their path difficult. The 5-wicket defeat against New Zealand in the first match and then the defeat against South Africa in the Super Over (2 Super Overs) weakened their position in the points table. Currently, Afghanistan has 0 points in 2 matches, while UAE is above them with 2 points.
Current status of Group-D
In Group D, South Africa is on top on 6 points with 3 wins from 3 matches. New Zealand is in second place with 4 points after 2 wins in three matches. UAE has 2 points, while Afghanistan and Canada are yet to open their account and are at fourth and fifth position respectively.
In such a situation, even if Afghanistan defeats UAE, the ticket for Super-8 will still not be decided. In case of equal points, net run rate and results of other teams will play an important role.
What is the path for Afghanistan?
Afghanistan has two matches left—against UAE and Canada. To reach the Super-8, it will have to win both the matches by a big margin so that the net run rate can improve. But even this will not be enough.
They have to hope that New Zealand loses to Canada in their next match. Also, UAE had to face defeat against South Africa in its last match. That means Afghanistan’s fate now depends not only on its performance but also on the results of other teams.
‘thin’ expectations
Mathematically, Afghanistan is still in the race, but in practice the path looks very difficult for it. Two close defeats have put them in a situation where even victory cannot provide complete relief.
The matches in Group-D have been extremely competitive and that is why the importance of net run rate has increased further. Afghanistan needs not just victory, but a dominant victory.
In this important match being played in Delhi, every over, every run and every wicket matters for Afghanistan. Even a win isn’t guaranteed a Super-8 spot—but a loss will send them straight out.
Now it will be interesting to see whether Afghanistan is able to turn this difficult mathematics in its favor or the story of departure from Group-D is written here.
T20 World Cup 2026 AFG vs UAE: Playing XI of both teams
UAE playing 11: Aryansh Sharma (wicketkeeper), Muhammad Wasim (captain), Alishan Sharafu, Sohaib Khan, Syed Haider, Harshit Kaushik, Muhammad Arfan, Haider Ali, Simranjeet Singh, Junaid Siddiqui, Muhammad Jawadullah.
afghanistan playing 11: Rehmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Ibrahim Zadran, Gulbadin Naib, Sidiqullah Atal, Darwish Rasooli, Azmatullah Omerzai, Mohammad Nabi, Rashid Khan (captain), Mujeeb Ur Rehman, Noor Ahmed, Ziaur Rehman Sharifi.
Also read:
T20 World Cup 2026: Big change in the points table after the IND vs PAK match, India qualified for Super-8; USA overtakes Pakistan
IND vs PAK Rising Stars Asia Cup 2026: India-A defeated Pakistan-A by 8 wickets, Pak team helpless in front of Vrinda’s fifty
Zimbabwe made a big upset in T20 World Cup, defeated Kangaroos by 23 runs in Colombo; The path to Super-8 is difficult for Australia
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