T20 World Cup 2026

The 10th edition of the T20 World Cup will be played in February and March 2026 in India and Sri Lanka. No host has ever won the tournament; hence, India will have their task cut out in defending the title, which they won in 2024 under the leadership of Rohit Sharma. The 20-team tournament will begin on February 7 with three games scheduled for the opening day, and the competition will culminate on March 8 at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. However, if Pakistan manage to reach the final, then the summit clash will proceed in Colombo, according to the previous agreement signed between the ICC, BCCI and the PCB.

India, who are the co-hosts of the tournament, will begin their title defence on the opening day of the tournament (February 7) with the evening game against the United States of America at the iconic Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. Pakistan and the West Indies will also start their campaign on the same day, playing against the Netherlands and Bangladesh, at the Sinhalese Sports Club (SSC) in Colombo and the Eden Gardens in Kolkata, respectively.

There are a total of eight venues for the tournament - the MA Chidambaram Stadium (Chennai), Arun Jaitley Stadium (New Delhi), Wankhede Stadium (Mumbai), Eden Gardens (Kolkata), R Premadasa Stadium (Colombo), Sinhalese Sports Club Cricket Ground (Colombo) and Pallekele International Cricket Stadium (Kandy). The semi-finals will be played on March 4 and 5 at the R Premadasa/Eden Gardens and Wankhede Stadium. If Pakistan end up qualifying for the semi-finals, Colombo’s R Premadasa Stadium will replace Kolkata as the host of Semi-Final 1. If India and Pakistan were to meet in the semi-finals, the match would take place in Colombo, while Mumbai would host Semi-Final 2, involving India if they faced any team other than Pakistan.

The event's format will be the same as in 2024. Twenty teams have been divided into four groups of five, with the top two from each group progressing to the Super Eights. Teams will be placed according to predetermined seedings.

The group stage of the ICC Men's T20 World Cup will conclude on February 20 with the match between Australia and Oman. The Super Eight will begin on February 21 in Colombo. If India, Australia, the West Indies, and South Africa qualify from the group stage, then these four teams will be placed in Group X in the Super Eights. England, Pakistan, New Zealand and Sri Lanka will form the Y Group if they qualify from the group stage.

India are in Group A alongside the USA, Namibia, Pakistan and the Netherlands. Australia and England are placed in separate groups, while Group D is considered the group of death, as it comprises South Africa, New Zealand, Afghanistan, Canada, and the UAE.

This is the second time that India and Sri Lanka are hosting the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup. Sri Lanka had previously hosted the 2012 edition while India hosted it in 2016, with the West Indies winning both editions.

India (2007 and 2024), the West Indies (2012 and 2016), and England (2010 and 2022) are the only three teams to have won the championship more than once, while Pakistan (2009), Sri Lanka (2014), and Australia (2021) have all won the tournament once.