Black Caps draw South Africa, Afghanistan in 2026 T20 World Cup group
Thursday, 27 November 2025
Previous conquerors Afghanistan loom once more as a potential stumbling block for the Black Caps at the T20 World Cup.
New Zealand have been drawn in a group with Afghanistan, South Africa, Canada and the UAE for the 2026 tournament starting in India and Sri Lanka in February.
The top two teams from each of the four groups will advance to the Super Eights, which will be divided into two groups of four, with the top two finishers from each group qualifying for the semifinals.
The Black Caps were hammered by Afghanistan in their opening group match of the 2024 World Cup in the West Indies, being dismissed for 75 when chasing Afghanistan’s 159-6 in 20 overs.
A defeat to the hosts in the following match saw New Zealand make an early exit from the competition.
Now they’ll have to face Afghanistan again in their opening match of the tournament, in Chennai on February 8.
The pitch is likely to offer assistance to the spin bowlers, which will please an Afghanistan side which made the semifinals in 2024. Veteran legspinner Rashid Khan - who has the most T20I wickets in history - is the No.3 ranked bowler in the format; one spot behind NZ seamer Jacob Duffy. Team-mate and offspinner Mujeeb Ur Rahman is ranked 16th - two places ahead of NZ captain Mitchell Santner.
NZ’s first opponents at the 2026 World Cup lost five consecutive T20Is against Bangladesh (four times) and Sri Lanka (once) in September and October, but swept Zimbabwe 3-0 in a recent series in Harare and are the 10th-ranked team in the ICC standings - with the Black Caps in fourth spot.
South Africa were beaten narrowly by India in the 2024 T20 World Cup final, when coached by new Black Caps coach Rob Walter.
The Black Caps had the upper hand when the teams last met, winning all three matches in the T20 tri-series in Zimbabwe in July, when neither squad was at full-strength in Walter’s first assignment in charge.
The Group D clash between the two teams will be in Ahmedabad on February 14, after meeting the UAE in Chennai on February 10. NZ’s final group game is against Canada on February 17, again in Chennai.
The 2026 World Cup semifinals will be held on March 4 (in Kolkata or Colombo) and March 5 (in Mumbai), with the final scheduled for March 8 at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad
At least the Black Caps won’t strike the same problem which plagued their 2024 World Cup campaign, when an absence of warm-up matches left them underdone for their crucial two initial group games.
New Zealand have played 12 T20Is since July, and get accustomed to Indian conditions in January when they will play three ODIs and five T20Is prior to the World Cup.
Walter and national selector Gavin Larsen have yet to name a squad of 15 for the tournament, with a number of likely inclusions still needing to prove their fitness - among them Glenn Phillips, Finn Allen, Lockie Ferguson and Adam Milne.
Batting allrounder Phillips was left out of the Black Caps squad for the first test against the West Indies starting in Christchurch on Tuesday as he continues his recovery from a groin injury, but is playing in the current round of the Plunket Shield first-class competition for Otago.
Opener Allen and pace bowlers Ferguson and Milne are set to play in various franchise T20 competitions around the world starting next month.
2026 T20 World Cup groups
Group A: India, Pakistan, USA, Netherlands, Namibia
Group B: Sri Lanka, Australia, Ireland, Zimbabwe, Oman
Group C: England, West Indies, Bangladesh, Nepal, Italy
Group D: New Zealand, South Africa, Afghanistan, Canada, UAE
Black Caps group matches
February 8 v Afghanistan, Chennai
February 10 v UAE, Chennai
February 14 v South Africa, Ahmedabad
February 17 v Canada, Chennai