T20 World Cup 2026: Afghanistan National Cricket Team is not officially eliminated yet, but they are in critical condition

Afghanistan National Cricket Team has suffered their second straight defeat after losing to South Africa in the dual super over thriller and previously to New Zealand ESPNcricinfo. However, the tournament is still in its group stages with multiple matches remaining.

Why They're Not Officially Eliminated:

Afghanistan National Cricket Team still has matches remaining in the group stage, including fixtures against UAE (Match 28) and Canada (Match 39). This means mathematically they can still qualify if they win their remaining matches and other results go their way.

Why Their Position is Precarious:

With two defeats in two matches, Afghanistan only has a slim chance of making it to Super 8 . South Africa's victory practically knocked Afghanistan out of the tournament and ensured progress for themselves and New Zealand.

The Realistic Picture:

Afghanistan now faces an uphill battle. They need to win their remaining group matches convincingly and hope for favorable results in other games. Given that they've lost to both New Zealand and South Africa (the stronger teams in Group D), their path to the Super 8 stage is extremely difficult, though not mathematically impossible at this point.

So technically, they haven't been eliminated, but their chances of advancing are very slim.