ICC unveils schedule for men's T20 World Cup 2026

DUBAI: The International Cricket Council (ICC) on Tuesday revealed the schedule for the forthcoming ICC T20 World Cup 2026, co-hosted by Sri Lanka and India.

The mega-event will be played from February 7 to March 8 across five venues in India—Arun Jaitley Stadium, Eden Gardens, Kolkata; MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai; Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad; and Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai.

Three venues will host matches in Sri Lanka—Pallekele International Cricket Stadium, Kandy; R. Premadasa Stadium, Colombo; and Sinhalese Sports Club, Colombo.

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The 2026 tournament format will mirror the 2024 T20 World Cup, with 20 teams divided into five groups of four.

The top two teams from each group will advance to the Super Eight stage, before progressing to the semi-finals and ultimately the final.

 

 

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The high-stakes encounter between Pakistan and defending champions India will be played on February 15 in Colombo as per the hybrid model.

The model has previously been applied in the ICC Champions Trophy 2025, when the UAE co-hosted India’s matches, and during the ICC Women’s World Cup 2025, with Sri Lanka joining as co-hosts.

Pakistan will play three of their group-stage fixtures at the Sinhalese Sports Club in Colombo, including the opening fixture of the World Cup against the Netherlands, whereas India will play their opening match against USA same day in the evening.

T20 World Cup Groups

• Group A: India, Pakistan, USA, Namibia, Netherlands,
• Group B: Australia, Sri Lanka, Zimbabwe, Ireland, Oman
• Group C: England, West Indies, Bangladesh, Italy, Nepal
• Group D: South Africa, New Zealand, Afghanistan, Canada, UAE

ICC T20 World Cup 2026 schedule

The group stage runs from 7 to 20 February, followed by the Super Eight round from 21 February to 1 March. The knockouts take over in the final week.

(Group Stage)

February 7

• Pakistan vs Netherlands in Colombo
• West Indies vs Bangladesh in Kolkata
• India vs USA in Mumbai

February 8

• New Zealand vs Afghanistan in Chennai
• England vs Nepal in Mumbai
• Sri Lanka vs Ireland in Colombo

February 9

• Bangladesh vs Italy in Kolkata
• Zimbabwe vs Oman in Colombo
• South Africa vs Canada in Ahmedabad

February 10

• Netherlands vs Namibia in Delhi
• New Zealand vs UAE in Chennai
• Pakistan vs USA in Colombo

February 11

• South Africa vs Afghanistan in Ahmedabad
• Australia vs Ireland in Colombo
• England vs West Indies in Mumbai

February 12

• Sri Lanka vs Oman in Kandy
• Nepal vs Italy in Mumbai
• India vs Namibia in Delhi

February 13

• Australia vs Zimbabwe in Colombo
• Canada vs UAE in Delhi
• USA vs Netherlands in Chennai

February 14

• Ireland vs Oman in Colombo
• England vs Bangladesh in Kolkata
• New Zealand vs South Africa in Ahmedabad

February 15

• West Indies vs Nepal in Mumbai
• USA vs Namibia in Chennai
• India vs Pakistan in Colombo

February 16

• Afghanistan vs UAE in Delhi
• England vs Italy in Kolkata
• Australia vs Sri Lanka in Kandy

February 17

• New Zealand vs Canada in Chennai
• Ireland vs Zimbabwe in Kandy
• Bangladesh vs Nepal in Mumbai

February 18

• South Africa vs UAE in Delhi
• Pakistan vs Namibia in Colombo
• India vs Netherlands in Ahmedabad

February 19

• West Indies vs Italy in Kolkata
• Sri Lanka vs Zimbabwe in Colombo
• Afghanistan vs Canada in Chennai

February 20

• Australia vs Oman in Kandy

Super-Eight Round

February 21

• Y2 vs Y3 in Colombo

February 22

• Y1 vs Y4 in Kandy
• X1 vs X4 in Ahmedabad

February 23

• X2 vs X3 in Mumbai

February 24

• Y1 vs Y3 in Kandy

February 25

• Y2 vs Y4 in Colombo

February 26

• X3 vs X4 in Colombo
• X1 vs X2 in Chennai

February 27

• Y1 vs Y2 in Colombo

February 28

• Y3 vs Y4 in Kandy

March 1

• X2 vs X4 in Delhi

• X1 vs X3 in Kolkata

Knock-out

March 4: Semi-final 1 in Colombo/Kolkata

March 5: Semi-final 2 in Mumbai

March 8: Final in Colombo/Ahmedabad