The ICC T20 World Cup 2026 schedule was officially announced by broadcasters Star Sports and JioHotstar on Tuesday, November 25. The ICC T20 World Cup 2026 will be jointly hosted by India and Sri Lanka and will begin in February.
The India national cricket team, led by Suryakumar Yadav, will enter the competition as the defending champions, after winning the championship in 2024 under the captaincy of Rohit Sharma.
There will be a clash between India and Pakistan on 15 February
In November 2021, Sri Lanka and India were officially selected as co-hosts for the T20 World Cup 2026. Earlier, Sri Lanka was to host the entire competition, but due to lack of facilities, it was decided to make India the co-host.
This will be the second time that the Men’s T20 World Cup will be hosted by India and Sri Lanka, as the former hosted it in 2016 and the latter in 2012.
Meanwhile, a total of 20 teams will participate in the marquee tournament. Apart from the hosts, the other teams are Afghanistan, Australia, Bangladesh, England, South Africa, United States, West Indies, New Zealand, Pakistan, Ireland, Canada, Italy, Netherlands, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Nepal, Oman and UAE.
The biggest match of the ICC T20 World Cup 2026, i.e. India vs Pakistan, will be played on February 15 in Colombo. It will not be played in India due to the agreement between the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) which states that all ICC events hosted by India or Pakistan involving India and Pakistan will be played at neutral venues until at least 2027.
The same format, which was adopted during the ICC T20 World Cup 2024, will be used again for the 2026 competition, as the 20 teams will be divided into five groups of four. Additionally, the top two teams from each of the four groups will advance to the Super Eight stage, where they will be divided into two groups of four each.
Then, the top two teams in each group will book their place in the semi-finals, with the winners of those matches competing in the summit clash.
ICC T20 World Cup 2026 Venue:
ICC Men’s Rankings #T20WorldCup 2026 is locked in pic.twitter.com/PIYTvzRWly
– ICC (@ICC) 25 November 2025
ICC T20 World Cup 2026 groups:
Group A:
India
Pakistan
usa
Netherlands
namibia
Group B:
Sri Lanka
Australia
ireland
zimbabwe
oman
Group C:
England
west indies
bangladesh
Nepal
Italy
Group D:
South Africa
new zealand
afghanistan
Canada
united arab emirates
Complete schedule of ICC T20 World Cup 2026:
Also read: “We wanted them to really give up”: Shukri Conrad reveals Pakistan’s role in India’s Test defeat in South Africa