The 2026 cricket calendar will keep all 12 Full Member nations busy, with each team featuring regularly across all formats. England, Australia, South Africa, West Indies, New Zealand, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Zimbabwe, Bangladesh, Afghanistan and Ireland will play several bilateral series at home and abroad.
In 2025, India achieved major success on the global stage by winning the ICC Champions Trophy. Senior stars Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma stepped away from Test cricket. Batsman Shubman Gill took up the leadership responsibility and performed well with the bat, but the team suffered a series defeat against South Africa.
2026 cricket season begins with Australia vs England Ashes final at SCG
The 2026 international cricket season will begin with a high-profile clash at the Sydney Cricket Ground, where Australia and England will meet in the final Test of the Ashes on January 4. India will take on New Zealand in a three-match ODI series starting on January 11.
Several other cricket teams, including Pakistan, Sri Lanka, South Africa, West Indies and Afghanistan, have also organized international series as part of preparations for the T20 World Cup 2026.
The focus will then shift to the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, which will be played in February and March. 20 teams will participate in the tournament, whose matches will be held at venues in India and Sri Lanka.
Apart from the T20 World Cup, 2026 will also include several cricket events such as the Women’s T20 World Cup, Men’s Under-19 World Cup, Australia’s tour of South Africa and India’s tour of New Zealand across all formats.
2026 cricket season set for non-stop action across all formats
The 2026 cricket season will be busy with activities across all formats till the middle of the year. In March, Pakistan will tour Bangladesh for a full series consisting of Tests, ODIs and T20Is. The Indian Premier League will take place from late March to late May.
New Zealand will tour England for a three-match Test series in June. England will also host the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup from mid-June to early July.
India will tour England in July for five T20s and three ODIs. Pakistan will play two tests in West Indies. Pakistan will go to England for a three-Test series in August. India will tour Sri Lanka for a two-Test series, the dates of which are yet to be confirmed. The year-end series is also yet to be announced.
Full cricket schedule 2026:
| month | Dates | series/event | Teams/Tour | format and matching | venue |
| January | 4-8 January | The Ashes – 5th Test | Australia vs England | 1 test | Australia |
| January | January 8-12 | pakistan tour sri lanka | pakistan vs sri lanka | 3 T20I | Sri Lanka |
| January | 9 January-5 February | Women’s Premier League | wpl teams | union | India |
| January | January 11-31 | New Zealand tour of India | india vs new zealand | 3 ODIs, 5 T20Is | India |
| January | January 15-February 6 | U19 World Cup | multiple teams | tournament | Zimbabwe, Namibia |
| January | January 19-22 | afghanistan vs west indies | afghanistan vs west indies | 3 T20I | united arab emirates |
| January | 22 January-3 February | England tour of Sri Lanka | Sri Lanka vs England | 3 ODIs, 3 T20Is | Sri Lanka |
| January | January 27-31 | West Indies tour of South Africa | South Africa vs West Indies | 3 T20I | South Africa |
| January February | tba | australia tour pakistan | pakistan vs australia | 3 T20I | Pakistan |
| february | tba | Afghanistan vs New Zealand | Afghanistan vs New Zealand | 3 T20I | united arab emirates |
| February-March | February 7-March 8 | t20 world cup | multiple teams | tournament | India, Sri Lanka |
| February-March | 15 February-6 March | Indian women’s team tour to Australia | Australia vs India (Women) | 3 T20Is, 3 ODIs, 1 Test | Australia |
| march | March 15-25 | south africa tour of new zealand | New Zealand vs South Africa | 5 t20i | new zealand |
| march | tba | afghanistan vs sri lanka | afghanistan vs sri lanka | 3 ODIs, 3 T20Is | united arab emirates |
| march | tba | pakistan tour bangladesh | bangladesh vs pakistan | 2 Tests, 3 ODIs, 3 T20Is | bangladesh |
| March may | March 26-May 31 | Indian Premier League | ipl teams | union | India |
| april | tba | new zealand tour bangladesh | bangladesh vs new zealand | 3 ODIs, 3 T20Is | bangladesh |
| April May | tba | pakistan tour of zimbabwe | pakistan vs zimbabwe | 3 ODIs, 3 T20Is | Pakistan |
| May-June | 28 May-2 June | Indian women’s team tour of England | England vs India (Women) | 3 T20I | England |
| May | tba | new zealand tour of ireland | ireland vs new zealand | 1 test | ireland |
| june | June 2-29 | New Zealand tour of England | England vs New Zealand | 3 test | England |
| June July | June 12-July 5 | Women’s T20 World Cup | multiple teams | tournament | England |
| june | tba | australia tour pakistan | pakistan vs australia | 3 ODI | Pakistan |
| june | tba | australia tour bangladesh | bangladesh vs australia | 3 ODIs, 3 T20Is | bangladesh |
| june | tba | West Indies tour of Sri Lanka | west indies vs sri lanka | 2 Tests, 3 ODIs, 3 T20Is | west indies |
| june | tba | India’s Afghanistan tour | india vs afghanistan | 1 Test, 3 ODIs | India |
| july | July 1-19 | India tour of England | England vs India | 5 T20Is, 3 ODIs | England |
| july | July 10-14 | Indian women’s team tour of England | England vs India (Women) | 1 test | England |
| july | tba | zimbabwe tour of bangladesh | zimbabwe vs bangladesh | 2 Tests, 5 T20Is | zimbabwe |
| july | tba | Australia tour of Afghanistan | Australia vs Afghanistan | 1 Test, 3 T20Is | Australia |
| july | tba | New Zealand tour of West Indies | West Indies vs New Zealand | 3 ODIs, 3 T20Is | west indies |
| july | tba | Pakistan tour of West Indies | west indies vs pakistan | 2 test | west indies |
| August September | August 19-September 9 | Pakistan tour of England | England vs Pakistan | 3 test | England |
| august | tba | india tour sri lanka | sri lanka vs india | 2 test | Sri Lanka |
| august | tba | Bangladesh tour of Australia | australia vs bangladesh | 2 test | Australia |
| august | tba | bangladesh tour of ireland | ireland vs bangladesh | 3 ODIs, 3 T20Is | ireland |
| august | tba | Afghanistan tour of Ireland | ireland vs afghanistan | 1 Test, 3 ODI, 3 T20I | ireland |
| September | September 15-27 | Sri Lanka tour of England | England vs Sri Lanka | 3 ODIs, 3 T20Is | England |
| September | tba | australia tour of zimbabwe | zimbabwe vs australia | 3 ODI | zimbabwe |
| September | tba | india vs afghanistan | india vs afghanistan | 3 T20I | India |
| September | tba | west indies tour of india | india vs west indies | 3 ODIs, 5 T20Is | India |
| September October | tba | Australia tour of South Africa | South Africa vs Australia | 3 test, 3 odi | South Africa |
| October-November | tba | india tour of new zealand | new zealand vs india | 2 Tests, 3 ODIs, 5 T20Is | new zealand |
| october | tba | West Indies tour of Bangladesh | bangladesh vs west indies | 2 test | bangladesh |
| october | tba | one day triangular series | Pakistan, England, Sri Lanka | ODI | Pakistan |
| October-November | tba | sri lanka tour pakistan | pakistan vs sri lanka | 2 Tests, 3 T20Is | Pakistan |
| November December | tba | England tour of Australia | Australia vs England | 3 ODIs, 5 T20Is | Australia |
| november | tba | Bangladesh tour of South Africa | South Africa vs Bangladesh | 2 Tests, 3 ODIs | South Africa |
| December-January | tba | sri lanka tour to india | india vs sri lanka | 3 ODIs, 3 T20Is | India |
| December-January | tba | New Zealand tour of Australia | Australia vs New Zealand | 4 test | Australia |
| December | tba | zimbabwe tour of afghanistan | afghanistan vs zimbabwe | 2 Tests, 3 ODIs, 3 T20Is | afghanistan |
| December-January | tba | England tour of South Africa | South Africa vs England | 3 Tests, 3 ODIs, 3 T20Is | South Africa |
Also read: Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma in 2026: India’s complete cricket schedule revealed