Cricket fans will be keeping an eye on India and Sri Lanka as the International Cricket Council (ICC) 2026 T20 World Cup gets underway from February 7.
The 10th tournament will consist of 54 matches and will conclude on March 8th.
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Here’s what you need to know about the T20 World Cup 2026 format and schedule.
What teams and groups will be participating in the T20 World Cup?
In 2024, the number of participating teams will be expanded to 20, and the number of participants will remain unchanged this year.
However, the team list was changed late as Bangladesh’s participation stalled for several weeks and the ICC expelled Bangladesh from the tournament. Scotland replaced Bangladesh, who were expelled after refusing to travel to India for the World Cup citing safety concerns.
The 20 teams will be divided into 4 groups of 5 teams each. these are:
Group A:
India Namibia Netherlands Pakistan United States
Group B:
Australia Ireland Oman Sri Lanka Zimbabwe
Group C:
England Italy Nepal West Indies Scotland
Group D:
Afghanistan Canada New Zealand South Africa United Arab Emirates (UAE)
What is the format of the T20 World Cup in 2026?
The tournament is divided into two group-based rounds and a knockout round consisting of semi-finals and finals.
The top two teams from each of the four groups will qualify for the Super 8 stage, where they will be split into two groups of four teams each.
The top two Super 8 teams advance to the semifinals.
Here is the breakdown of the tournament schedule:
Group Stage: February 7th – 20th Super 8: February 21st – March 1st Semi-finals: March 4th and 5th Finals: March 8th
venue
The tournament will be held in five stadiums in India and three in Sri Lanka.
Venues for all matches except for the semi-finals and final have been confirmed by the ICC.
If India advances to the semi-finals, they will face each other in the second match at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.
If Pakistan qualify for the last four, the match will be played on March 4 at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo.
Here is the list of venues:
India:
Arun Jaitley Stadium, New Delhi Eden Gardens, Kolkata Massachusetts Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai
Sri Lanka:
R Premadasa Stadium, Colombo Palekele International Cricket Stadium, Kandy Sinhala Sports Club (SSC), Colombo
Full game schedule
group stage
Saturday, February 7th
Netherlands vs Pakistan, 11am (05:30 GMT) – SSC, Colombo
Scotland vs West Indies 3pm (09:30 GMT) – Eden Gardens, Kolkata
India vs USA, 7pm (13:30 GMT) – Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai
February 8th (Sun)
Afghanistan vs. New Zealand, 11am (05:30 GMT) – Chidambaram Stadium, Massachusetts, Chennai
England vs Nepal, 3pm (9.30pm GMT) – Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai
Sri Lanka vs Ireland, 7pm (13:30 GST) – R Premadasa Stadium, Colombo
Monday, February 9th
Scotland v Italy, 11am (05:30 GMT) – Eden Gardens, Kolkata
Oman vs. Zimbabwe 3:00pm (9:30 GMT) – SSC, Colombo
Canada vs. South Africa, 7:00 p.m. (13:30 BST) – Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad
Tuesday, February 10th
Namibia vs Netherlands, 11am (05:30 GMT) – Arun Jaitley Stadium, New Delhi
New Zealand vs UAE, 3pm (9.30pm GMT) – MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai
Pakistan vs USA, 7pm (13:30 GMT) – SSC, Colombo
Wednesday, February 11th
Afghanistan vs South Africa, 11am (05:30 GMT) – Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad
Australia vs Ireland, 3pm (9.30pm GMT) – R Premadasa Stadium, Colombo
England vs. West Indies 7pm (13:30 GMT) – Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai
Thursday, February 12th
Sri Lanka vs Oman 11:00am (05:30 GMT) – Palekele International Cricket Stadium, Kandy
Italy vs Nepal, 3pm (9.30pm GMT) – Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai
India vs Namibia 7pm (13:30 JST) – Arun Jaitley Stadium, New Delhi
Friday, February 13th
Australia vs Zimbabwe, 11am (05:30 GMT) – R Premadasa Stadium, Colombo
Canada vs. United Arab Emirates, 3:00pm (9:30 GMT) – Arun Jaitley Stadium, New Delhi
Netherlands vs USA, 7pm (13:30 GMT) – MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai
Saturday, February 14th
Ireland vs Oman 11am (05:30 GMT) – SSC, Colombo
Scotland vs England, 3pm (9.30pm GMT) – Eden Gardens, Kolkata
New Zealand vs. South Africa, 7pm (13:30 GMT) – Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad
Sunday, February 15th
Nepal vs West Indies, 11am (05:30 GMT) – Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai
Namibia vs USA, 3pm (9.30pm GMT) – MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai
India vs Pakistan, 7pm (13:30 GMT) – R Premadasa Stadium, Colombo
Monday, February 16th
Afghanistan vs UAE, 11am (05:30 GMT) – Arun Jaitley Stadium, New Delhi
England vs Italy, 3pm (9.30pm GMT) – Eden Gardens, Kolkata
Australia vs. Sri Lanka, 7:00pm (13:30 Japan time) – Palekele International Cricket Stadium, Kandy
Tuesday, February 17th
Canada vs. New Zealand, 11:00 a.m. (05:30 GMT) – Chidambaram Stadium, Massachusetts, Chennai
Ireland vs Zimbabwe 3pm (09:30 GMT) – Palekele International Cricket Stadium, Kandy
Scotland vs Nepal, 7pm (13:30 GMT) – Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai
Wednesday, February 18th
South Africa vs UAE, 11am (05:30 GMT) – Arun Jaitley Stadium, New Delhi
Namibia vs Pakistan 3pm (9:30pm GMT) – SSC, Colombo
India vs Netherlands, 7pm (13:30 JST) – Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad
Thursday, February 19th
Italy vs West Indies, 11am (05:30 GMT) – Eden Gardens, Kolkata
Sri Lanka vs Zimbabwe 3pm (9.30pm GMT) – R Premadasa Stadium, Colombo
Afghanistan vs Canada 7:00pm (13:30 GMT) – MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai
Friday, February 20th
Australia vs. Oman 7:00pm (13:30 Japan time) – Palekele International Cricket Stadium, Kandy
super 8
Saturday, February 21st
TBD vs TBD 7pm (13:30 GMT) – R Premadasa Stadium, Colombo
Sunday, February 22nd
TBD vs TBD 3pm (09:30 GMT) – Palekele International Cricket Stadium, Kandy
TBD vs TBD 7pm (13:30 GMT) – Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad
Monday, February 23rd
TBD vs TBD 7pm (13:30 GMT) – Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai
Tuesday, February 24th
TBD vs TBD 7pm (13:30 GMT) – Palekele International Cricket Stadium, Kandy
Wednesday, February 25th
TBD vs TBD 7pm (13:30 GMT) – R Premadasa Stadium, Colombo
Thursday, February 26th
TBD vs TBD 3pm (09:30 GMT) – Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad
TBD vs TBD 7pm (13:30 GMT) – MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai
Friday, February 27th
TBD vs TBD 7pm (13:30 GMT) – R Premadasa Stadium, Colombo
Saturday, February 28th
TBD vs TBD 7pm (13:30 GMT) – Palekele International Cricket Stadium, Kandy
Sunday March 1st
TBD vs TBD 3pm (09:30 GMT) – Arun Jaitley Stadium, New Delhi
TBD vs TBD 7pm (13:30 GMT) – Eden Gardens, Kolkata
knock out
Wednesday, March 4th
First semi-final 7pm (13:30 GMT) – Eden Gardens in Kolkata or R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo
Thursday, March 5th
Second Semi-Final 7:00pm (13:30 GMT) – Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai
Sunday, March 8th
Final 7pm (13:30 GMT) – Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad or R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo
