The International Cricket Council has finalised the schedule for the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026. Organisers scheduled the marquee Pakistan versus India match for February 15. India and Sri Lanka will co-host the tournament, which will run from February 7 to March 8.
Reports indicate ICC will announce the official schedule on November 25. Twenty confirmed teams will participate following recent regional qualifiers.
Teams are divided into four groups of five, with the top two from each group advancing to the Super Eight stage. That round splits into two groups of four. From there, the top two in each Super Eight group will reach the semi-finals, with the winners competing for the title in the final.
Pakistan and India join the United States, Namibia, and the Netherlands in the same group. Organisers arranged for Pakistan to play all group-stage matches in Sri Lanka, with the high-profile India-Pakistan clash set for Colombo.
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India enters the competition as the defending champion, having defeated South Africa in the 2024 tournament final in Barbados. The qualified teams include automatic qualifiers and regional champions.
The list of participating teams includes hosts India and Sri Lanka, as well as the top seven sides from the 2024 World Cup. These teams are Afghanistan, Australia, Bangladesh, England, South Africa, the United States, and the West Indies. Pakistan, New Zealand, and Ireland qualified based on their T20I rankings.
Regional qualifiers rounding out the 20-team roster are Canada (Americas), Italy and the Netherlands (Europe), Namibia and Zimbabwe (Africa), and the UAE, Nepal, and Oman (Asia-EAP). Notably, Italy will be making its T20 World Cup debut.
The location for the final is yet to be confirmed. Ahmedabad and Colombo are potential venues. The decision may depend on whether Pakistan qualifies for the latter stages of the tournament.
