ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2026 likely dates revealed

The probable dates for the ICC Men’s T20 Cricket World Cup 2026 — to be co-hosted by Sri Lanka and India have been disclosed, with the tournament expected to be played from February 7 to March 8.

According to ESPNCricinfo, the matches of the mega event will be played across at least five venues in India and two in Sri Lanka.

The final will be held in Ahmedabad or Colombo, depending on Pakistan’s advancement through to the pinnacle clash— due to the hybrid model.

As per the report, ICC is in the final stages of finalizing the schedule, and it has informed the participating countries about the window.

It is pertinent to mention that apart from the T20 World Cup, India is set to host several key cricketing events in the early months of 2026.

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The schedule commences with a home T20I and ODI series against New Zealand. This will be followed by the Women’s Premier League, with the dates yet to be finalized. Finally, the Indian Premier League (IPL), which will begin after the T20 World Cup.

The ICC T20 World Cup 2026 will see 20 teams competing for the first time. Currently, 15 teams have booked their spot for the tournament.

The teams are Afghanistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, England, South Africa, USA, West Indies, New Zealand, Pakistan, Ireland, Canada, Netherlands, and Italy.

Meanwhile, the remaining spots will be filled by two teams from the Africa regional qualifiers and three from the Asia-East Asia Pacific pathway..

The format of the mega event will remain the same as the 2024 men’s T20 World Cup, which was held in the USA and the West Indies, with 20 teams divided into four groups, each comprising five teams.

The top four teams from each group will go through to the Super Eight stages.

For the unversed, the hosts India are the defending champions of the event, having secured the title for the second time in 2024.

They defeated South Africa in a thriller by seven runs to win the T20 World Cup for the first time after 2007.

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