This is the earliest they have been eliminated from the tournament after losses to the USA and India.
Danial Rasoul
Pakistan were eliminated from the T20 World Cup 2024 after poor weather conditions at Lauderhill led to points being split between Ireland and the USA. The USA qualified for the Super Eights along with India from Group A and also qualified for the 2026 T20 World Cup.
But for Pakistan, a tough tournament ended with an abrupt exit under overcast skies that epitomize the grim conditions of the World Cup. They arrived in the US with no warm-up matches scheduled and most of their practice sessions cancelled due to rain. Pakistan’s unfamiliarity was hurt by the home team in the opening game, when they lost a super over to the US, and then Pakistan collapsed chasing 120 against India, losing by six runs.
This meant that Pakistan was dependent on the results of other matches, particularly the match between the USA and Ireland at Lauderhill: a win for Ireland would keep Pakistan in the league, but any other result would give the USA a commanding lead in points over Pakistan.
Pakistan’s only win so far was a seven-wicket victory over Canada. They still have one game left, against Ireland on Sunday, but they were also eliminated when that match was abandoned.
However, this does not mean they will have to play in the qualifiers to secure a place in the next T20 World Cup: their current T20I ranking of seventh is good enough to guarantee them a place in the 2026 tournament, which will be co-hosted by India and Sri Lanka.
This was the first time Pakistan had ever lost a T20 World Cup, playing just three matches before their fate was decided. They had also been eliminated in the group stages in 2014 and 2016, but had reached the semi-finals in all other editions. No team has reached more finals than Pakistan (tied with England with three), having won in 2009.
Danyal Rasool is ESPNcricinfo’s Pakistan correspondent. @Danny61000
