The ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier 2013 will be contested by 16 teams which have been seeded and divided into two groups:

Qualification Pathway

The tournament will see 16 sides, split into two groups of eight, compete for six available spots in the ICC World Twenty20 2014 in Bangladesh. The sides that will top the two groups at the conclusion of the group stages will automatically qualify for Bangladesh 2014.

The sides that finish second and third in the two groups will play cross-over matches to be played at Zayed Cricket Stadium, Abu Dhabi on 27 November in a double-header (Match 60 and 63). The two winners will also progress to the ICC World Twenty20 2014.

The sides that finish fourth and fifth in each of the two groups will also play cross-over matches, to be played at Abu Dhabi Ovals 1 and 2 respectively (Matches 61 and 62 on 27 November, starting at 1000). The winners of these two matches will then play the losers of the second v third cross-over fixtures; the victors of these matches will then also progress into the ICC World Twenty20 Bangladesh 2014.

Once the six qualifying teams have been identified, 29 November will see a semi-finals double-header take place at Zayed Cricket Stadium where the winner of Group A will play the winner of Match 63 and the winner of Group B will play the winner of Match 60. The victors of these two games will then progress to the final of the tournament.

The losers of the semi-finals will then play each other in the third/fourth play-off while the final two qualifying sides will play a fifth/sixth play-off.

The final finishing positions of the teams in this event will determine as to which group they will go into for the first round of the ICC World Twenty20 2014 tournament, alongside Bangladesh and Zimbabwe.