On Tuesday, November 25, the schedule for the ICC T20 World Cup 2026 was officially announced by the broadcasters Star Sports and JioHotstar. The ICC T20 World Cup 2026 is set to be co-hosted by India and Sri Lanka and will commence in February.
India National Cricket Team, under the leadership of Suryakumar Yadav, will be entering the competition as the defending champions, having won the championship back in 2024 under Rohit Sharma’s captaincy.
ICC T20 World Cup 2026: India and Pakistan to clash on February 15
In November 2021, Sri Lanka and India were officially chosen as co-hosts for the T20 World Cup 2026. At first, Sri Lanka were supposed to host the entire competition, but due to a lack of facilities, it was decided to make India co-hosts.
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It 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 did it way back in 2012.
Meanwhile, a total of 20 teams will be participating in the marquee tournament. Apart from hosts, the other teams are Afghanistan, Australia, Bangladesh, England, South Africa, United States of America, 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, which is the India vs Pakistan clash, will be played on February 15 in Colombo. It won’t be played in India because of the agreement between the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), which states that the matches involving India and Pakistan at all ICC events hosted by India or Pakistan would be played at a neutral venue until at least 2027.
The same format, which was followed during the ICC T20 World Cup 2024, will again be used for the 2026 competition, as 20 teams will be divided into five groups of four. Furthermore, the top two teams from each of the four groups will move on to the Super Eight phase, where they will be further divided into two groups of four each.
Then, the teams finishing in the top two in each of the groups will book their slots in the semi-finals, with the winners of those matches competing in the summit clash.
ICC T20 World Cup 2026 venues:
Venues for the ICC Men’s #T20WorldCup 2026 have been locked in 🏟️ pic.twitter.com/PIYTvzRWly
— ICC (@ICC) November 25, 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
UAE
ICC T20 World Cup 2026 Full Schedule:
| Date | Match | Venue |
| Saturday, 7 February | Pakistan vs Netherlands | SSC, Colombo |
| Saturday, 7 February | West Indies vs Bangladesh | Kandy |
| Saturday, 7 February | India vs USA | Mumbai |
| Sunday, 8 February | New Zealand vs Afghanistan | Mumbai |
| Sunday, 8 February | England vs Nepal | Mumbai |
| Sunday, 8 February | Sri Lanka vs Ireland | Premadasa, Colombo |
| Monday, 9 February | Bangladesh vs Italy | Kolkata |
| Monday, 9 February | Oman vs Canada | Ahmedabad |
| Monday, 9 February | South Africa vs Namibia | Delhi |
| Tuesday, 10 February | Netherlands vs UAE | Chennai |
| Tuesday, 10 February | New Zealand vs USA | Mumbai |
| Wednesday, 11 February | Pakistan vs Afghanistan | SSC, Colombo |
| Wednesday, 11 February | South Africa vs Ireland | Ahmedabad |
| Wednesday, 11 February | Australia vs West Indies | Mumbai |
| Thursday, 12 February | Sri Lanka vs Oman | Premadasa, Colombo |
| Thursday, 12 February | Nepal vs Italy | Delhi |
| Thursday, 12 February | India vs Namibia | Mumbai |
| Friday, 13 February | Australia vs Zimbabwe | Mumbai |
| Friday, 13 February | Canada vs Netherlands | Mumbai |
| Friday, 13 February | USA vs Ireland | Chennai |
| Saturday, 14 February | England vs Bangladesh | SSC, Colombo |
| Saturday, 14 February | Oman vs South Africa | Ahmedabad |
| Saturday, 14 February | West Indies vs Nepal | Mumbai |
| Sunday, 15 February | Sri Lanka vs Namibia | Premadasa, Colombo |
| Sunday, 15 February | India vs Pakistan | Mumbai |
| Monday, 16 February | England vs Italy | Kolkata |
| Monday, 16 February | Australia vs Sri Lanka | Kandy |
| Monday, 16 February | New Zealand vs Canada | Mumbai |
| Tuesday, 17 February | Ireland vs Zimbabwe | Kandy |
| Tuesday, 17 February | Bangladesh vs Nepal | Mumbai |
| Wednesday, 18 February | South Africa vs UAE | Delhi |
| Wednesday, 18 February | Pakistan vs Namibia | SSC, Colombo |
| Wednesday, 18 February | India vs Netherlands | Ahmedabad |
| Wednesday, 18 February | West Indies vs Italy | Kolkata |
| Thursday, 19 February | Sri Lanka vs Zimbabwe | Premadasa, Colombo |
| Thursday, 19 February | Afghanistan vs Canada | Ahmedabad |
| Friday, 20 February | Australia vs Oman | Kandy |
| Friday, 20 February | Y1 vs Y3 | Premadasa, Colombo |
| Sunday, 22 February | Y2 vs X1 | Kandy |
| Monday, 23 February | X2 vs X3 | Ahmedabad |
| Tuesday, 24 February | Y1 vs X2 | Mumbai |
| Wednesday, 25 February | Y3 vs X1 | Chennai |
| Thursday, 26 February | Y2 vs X3 | Premadasa, Colombo |
| Thursday, 26 February | Y1 vs X1 | Ahmedabad |
| Saturday, 28 February | Y3 vs X3 | Kandy |
| Sunday, 1 March | Y2 vs X2 | Kolkata |
| Wednesday, 4 March | Semi Final 1 | Kolkata/Colombo |
| Thursday, 5 March | Semi Final 2 | Mumbai |
| Sunday, 8 March | Final | Ahmedabad/Colombo |
SAVE THE DATES! 😍
The ICC Men’s #T20WorldCup 2026 schedule is out! 📝
Which match are you most excited for? 👇 pic.twitter.com/ziVrO8RiXj
— Star Sports (@StarSportsIndia) November 25, 2025
