ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2026: India and Sri Lanka to host, 20 teams to participate; IND vs. PAK group match on this day
The ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2026 will begin on February 7 next year, with the final on March 8. Twenty teams will participate in this tournament.
The ICC has released the schedule for the T20 World Cup 2026. The group stage match between India and Pakistan will take place in Colombo on February 15. The tournament will be played at eight venues in seven cities across India and Sri Lanka. 55 matches will be played over 29 days. India's World Cup-winning captain, Rohit Sharma, has been appointed the tournament's brand ambassador.
At the ICC ceremony in Mumbai, the committee announced that the opening match will be between Pakistan and the Netherlands on February 7th. Three matches will be played each day in the group stage.
The final will be held at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. If Pakistan advances to the knockout rounds, the matches will be held in Sri Lanka. The tournament features 20 teams, divided into four different groups.
In India, matches will be played at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, the Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi, the Eden Gardens Stadium in Kolkata, the Chepauk Stadium in Chennai, and the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.
In Sri Lanka, matches will be played in Colombo and Kandy. In Colombo, matches will be played at the R. Premadasa and Sinhalese Sports Club Stadiums. Team India will play group stage matches in Mumbai, Delhi, Colombo, and Ahmedabad.
India-Pakistan match to be held in Colombo
Before the Champions Trophy, the BCCI and the PCB had agreed that the two teams would not travel to each other's countries in the future. Matches in multi-nation tournaments would be played at neutral venues. This year, the India-Pakistan match in the Champions Trophy was held in Dubai. Therefore, the World Cup match will be played in Colombo.
The Afghanistan-Bangladesh group stage is a challenging one, with 20 teams divided into four groups. Each team will play four league matches within their group. After the league stage, the top two teams from each group will advance to the Super 8 stage. Within the Super 8 stage, the teams will be divided into groups X and Y. Here, the top two teams each will advance to the semi-finals, with the winners playing in the final on March 8 in Ahmedabad.
The group stage will run until February 20th. Three matches will be played every day from February 7th to February 19th. There will be a single match between Australia and Oman on February 20th. The first round will consist of 40 matches.
Super 8 round from February 21
The Super 8 round will begin on February 21st, consisting of 12 matches. There will be two matches each on February 22nd, 26th, and March 1st. There will be only one match on the remaining days. The match kickoff times will be 11:00 am, 3:00 pm, and 7:00 pm.
First semi-final on March 4, second on March 5, final on March 8
The first semi-final will be held in Kolkata on March 4th. If Pakistan enters, the match will be played in Colombo. The second semi-final will be held in Mumbai on March 5th. The final will be held in Ahmedabad on March 8th. If Pakistan enters, this match will also be played in Colombo.
The 20 teams participating in the tournament have been divided into four groups.
India, Pakistan, USA, Netherlands, Namibia
Australia, Sri Lanka, Ireland, Zimbabwe, Oman
England, West Indies, Nepal, Italy
New Zealand, South Africa, Afghanistan, Canada, UAE
Prakash Kumar Pandey