Former India opener Aakash Chopra has shown disappointment over the fact that India and Pakistan are the only two-Test-playing nations in Group A for the T20 World Cup 2026 as well. According to him, since 12 Test-playing nations are taking part in the ICC event, all four groups need to have featured three Test teams each as well.

Speaking on his YouTube channel, Chopra said: “India-Pakistan are together again in the group stage. There are 12 Test-playing nations and all of them have qualified. Ideally, there should be three in each group. That’s not the case. India and Pakistan are the only Test-playing nations in their group. So, there is one group, which has four Test-playing nations.”

“Personally, I’m not very happy about it. In the World Cup, you want all the matches to have a context. India-USA, India-Namibia, India-Netherlands – it will take some time for you to get excited. And, in the initial few days, there are triple headers. It’s going to be a really tight tournament in the first couple of weeks,” he added.

Meanwhile, Sri Lanka, Australia, Ireland, Zimbabwe and Oman are in Group B; England, West Indies, Bangladesh, Nepal and Italy are in Group C; and South Africa, Afghanistan, New Zealand, Canada and UAE are placed in Group D as well. Chopra also feels that there could be tough competition among them as well.

“Group C has England, West Indies, Bangladesh, Nepal, Italy. So, out of the first three teams, at least one will go out. It is tough. But after that, New Zealand, Afghanistan, and South Africa. At least, one good team will go out from Group D because all three teams are strong.”