With the T20 World Cup 2026 around the corner, the International Cricket Council (ICC) on Friday (January 30) revealed the full list of match officials who will handle the group-stage games in India and Sri Lanka starting on February 7.
ICC announces match officials for T20 World Cup 2026 group stage
The ICC has selected 24 on-field umpires and six match referees for the group stage. Most of them are highly experienced and have handled big matches in the past. “Officials for the Super Eights and knockout stage will be announced in due course,” the ICC said.
The opening match of the T20 World Cup 2026 will be played between Pakistan and Netherlands at the Sinhalese Sports Club Ground in Colombo. Kumar Dharmasena and Wayne Knights will be the on-field umpires for this match.
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Knights will make his debut as an on-field umpire in the Men’s T20 World Cup. Dharmasena, on the other hand, has a lot of experience and has already umpired in 37 T20 World Cup matches. He has also been in charge during T20 World Cup finals in 2016 and 2022 and was part of Sri Lanka’s World Cup-winning team in 1996.
Rod Tucker and Nitin Menon: Experienced names chosen
On the opening day in India, Kolkata will host the Group C match between Scotland and West Indies. The responsibility of this match has been given to Nitin Menon and Sam Nogajski. While Menon officiated in the first semi-final of the 2024 T20 World Cup, Nogajski officiated in four group-stage matches.
Later, on the same day, India will face the US in Mumbai. This match will be officiated by Paul Reiffel and Rod Tucker. Tucker is the most experienced official in the tournament, having already officiated in 46 Men’s T20 World Cup matches. During this World Cup, he will also watch matches between England and Nepal, India and Namibia and South Africa and UAE.
Top officials will officiate India vs Pakistan match
Chris Gaffney and Richard Illingworth will appear as on-field umpires in Australia’s Group B match against Ireland on 11 February. The duo had earlier shared on-field duties during the 2024 T20 World Cup final between India and South Africa in Barbados.
The biggest group-stage match of the T20 World Cup 2026, the India vs Pakistan encounter in Colombo on February 15, will be handled by Richard Illingworth along with Kumar Dharmasena.
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Match officials for T20 World Cup 2026 group stage:
Match Referee:
Javagal Srinath, Dean Cosker, Andrew Pycroft, Richie Richardson, David Gilbert and Ranjan Madugalle.
Umpire:
Roland Black, Chris Brown, Kumar Dharmasena, Chris Gaffney, Adrian Holdstock, Richard Illingworth, Richard Kettleborough, Wayne Knights, Donovan Koch, KNA Padmanabhan, Allahuddin Palekar, Ahsan Raza, Leslie Reifer, Paul Reiffel, Jayraman Madangopal, Nitin Menon, Sam Nogajski, Langton Russere, Sharafuddaula Ibne Shahid, Ghazi Sohail, Rod Tucker, Alex Wharfe, Ravindra Wimalasiri, and Asif Yacob.
Notably, 20 teams will compete for the final championship in India and Sri Lanka from February 7 to March 8. The teams are divided into four groups, and the top two teams from each group, consisting of five teams, will advance to the next round, and then the top four teams will qualify for the semi-finals, in which the two best teams will face each other in the final of the T20 World Cup 2026.
