ICC T20 WC 2026

ICC T20 World Cup 2026: Schedule, Groups, Teams, Rankings, and Form Guide

Dec. 30, 2025

The ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 will be played from February 7 to March 8, co-hosted by India and Sri Lanka. Twenty teams will compete across group stages, Super Eights, and knockouts, making this one of the most tightly packed T20 World Cups yet. This guide is structured around what fans usually look for first:
  1. Full match schedule
  2. Key fixtures
  3. Groups
  4. Qualification path
  5. Rankings
  6. Recent form

ICC T20 World Cup 2026 Full Schedule (Group Stage, Super Eights, Knockouts)

Full Group Stage Schedule (February 7–20)

The group stage runs from February 7 to February 19, with one additional match on February 20. A total of 40 group-stage matches will be played between Feb 7–20. The tournament has 55 matches overall (including Super Eights and knockouts) will be played across India and Sri Lanka.
Date Time (IST) Match Group/Stage Venue
7 Feb 11:00 AM Pakistan vs Netherlands A Sinhalese Sports Club (SSC), Colombo
7 Feb 3:00 PM West Indies vs Bangladesh C Eden Gardens, Kolkata
7 Feb 7:00 PM India vs United States A Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai
8 Feb 11:00 AM New Zealand vs Afghanistan D MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai
8 Feb 3:00 PM England vs Nepal C Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai
8 Feb 7:00 PM Sri Lanka vs Ireland B R. Premadasa Stadium, Colombo
9 Feb 11:00 AM Bangladesh vs Italy C Eden Gardens, Kolkata
9 Feb 3:00 PM Zimbabwe vs Oman B SSC, Colombo
9 Feb 7:00 PM South Africa vs Canada D Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad
10 Feb 11:00 AM Netherlands vs Namibia A Arun Jaitley Stadium, Delhi
10 Feb 3:00 PM New Zealand vs UAE D MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai
10 Feb 7:00 PM Pakistan vs United States A SSC, Colombo
11 Feb 11:00 AM South Africa vs Afghanistan D Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad
11 Feb 3:00 PM Australia vs Ireland B R. Premadasa Stadium, Colombo
11 Feb 7:00 PM England vs West Indies C Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai
12 Feb 11:00 AM Sri Lanka vs Oman B Pallekele International Cricket Stadium, Kandy
12 Feb 3:00 PM Nepal vs Italy C Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai
12 Feb 7:00 PM India vs Namibia A Arun Jaitley Stadium, Delhi
13 Feb 11:00 AM Australia vs Zimbabwe B R. Premadasa Stadium, Colombo
13 Feb 3:00 PM Canada vs UAE D Arun Jaitley Stadium, Delhi
13 Feb 7:00 PM United States vs Netherlands A MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai
14 Feb 11:00 AM Ireland vs Oman B SSC, Colombo
14 Feb 3:00 PM England vs Bangladesh C Eden Gardens, Kolkata
14 Feb 7:00 PM New Zealand vs South Africa D Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad
15 Feb 11:00 AM West Indies vs Nepal C Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai
15 Feb 3:00 PM United States vs Namibia A MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai
15 Feb 7:00 PM India vs Pakistan A R. Premadasa Stadium, Colombo
16 Feb 11:00 AM Afghanistan vs UAE D Arun Jaitley Stadium, Delhi
16 Feb 3:00 PM England vs Italy C Eden Gardens, Kolkata
16 Feb 7:00 PM Australia vs Sri Lanka B Pallekele International Cricket Stadium, Kandy
17 Feb 11:00 AM New Zealand vs Canada D MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai
17 Feb 3:00 PM Ireland vs Zimbabwe B Pallekele International Cricket Stadium, Kandy
17 Feb 7:00 PM Bangladesh vs Nepal C Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai
18 Feb 11:00 AM South Africa vs UAE D Arun Jaitley Stadium, Delhi
18 Feb 3:00 PM Pakistan vs Namibia A SSC, Colombo
18 Feb 7:00 PM India vs Netherlands A Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad
19 Feb 11:00 AM West Indies vs Italy C Eden Gardens, Kolkata
19 Feb 3:00 PM Sri Lanka vs Zimbabwe B R. Premadasa Stadium, Colombo
19 Feb 7:00 PM Afghanistan vs Canada D MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai
20 Feb 7:00 PM Australia vs Oman B Pallekele International Cricket Stadium, Kandy

Super Eights Schedule - ICC T20 World Cup 2026 (February 21 to March 1)

Super Eights matches use seeded placeholders, which will be replaced once group standings are confirmed.
Date Time (IST) Match (Seeded) Stage Venue
21 Feb 7:00 PM New Zealand (Y2) vs Pakistan (Y3) Super Eights R. Premadasa Stadium, Colombo
22 Feb 3:00 PM England (Y1) vs Sri Lanka (Y4) Super Eights Pallekele International Cricket Stadium, Kandy
22 Feb 7:00 PM India (X1) vs South Africa (X4) Super Eights Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad
23 Feb 7:00 PM Australia (X2) vs West Indies (X3) Super Eights Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai
24 Feb 7:00 PM England (Y1) vs Pakistan (Y3) Super Eights Pallekele International Cricket Stadium, Kandy
25 Feb 7:00 PM New Zealand (Y2) vs Sri Lanka (Y4) Super Eights R. Premadasa Stadium, Colombo
26 Feb 3:00 PM West Indies (X3) vs South Africa (X4) Super Eights Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad
26 Feb 7:00 PM India (X1) vs Australia (X2) Super Eights MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai
27 Feb 7:00 PM England (Y1) vs New Zealand (Y2) Super Eights R. Premadasa Stadium, Colombo
28 Feb 7:00 PM Pakistan (Y3) vs Sri Lanka (Y4) Super Eights Pallekele International Cricket Stadium, Kandy
1 Mar 3:00 PM Australia (X2) vs South Africa (X4) Super Eights Arun Jaitley Stadium, Delhi
1 Mar 7:00 PM India (X1) vs West Indies (X3) Super Eights Eden Gardens, Kolkata

ICC T20 World Cup 2026 Knockout Schedule: Semi-Finals and Final

As per ICC scheduling, Pakistan are slated to play their matches in Sri Lanka, and venue contingencies apply in specific qualification scenarios. The final and one semi-final have Colombo listed as an alternate venue, depending on participating teams. (Knockout table remains exactly as provided no changes made)
Date Time (IST) Match Venue
4 Mar 7:00 PM Semi-Final 1 Eden Gardens, Kolkata / R. Premadasa Stadium, Colombo
5 Mar 7:00 PM Semi-Final 2 Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai
8 Mar 7:00 PM Final Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad / R. Premadasa Stadium, Colombo
SOURCES

ICC T20 WC 2026 Groups - Full Group-Wise Breakdown

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 New Zealand, South Africa, Afghanistan, Canada, UAE

How Teams Qualified for ICC T20 World Cup 2026

Automatic Qualification

  • Hosts: India, Sri Lanka

Qualification via Previous Tournament

  • Afghanistan
  • Australia
  • Bangladesh
  • England
  • South Africa
  • USA
  • West Indies

Qualification via ICC T20I Rankings

  • New Zealand
  • Pakistan
  • Ireland

Regional Qualifiers

  • Americas: Canada
  • Europe: Netherlands, Italy
  • Africa: Namibia, Zimbabwe
  • Asia-EAP: Nepal, Oman, UAE
Italy’s qualification marks their first appearance at a Men’s ICC T20 World Cup.

ICC T20I Rankings - T20 World Cup 2026 Favorites

(As on 29 December 2025)
Rank Team Rating
1 India 272
2 Australia 267
3 England 258
4 New Zealand 251
5 South Africa 240
India starts as the highest-ranked team, followed closely by Australia and England.

Recent Team Form Before ICC T20 World Cup 2026

Recent results suggest that rankings alone may not decide outcomes.
  • Nepal won a 2-1 series against West Indies in December 2025
  • Namibia recorded a T20I win over South Africa
These performances highlight how quickly momentum can shift in the T20 format.

Final Take

The T20 World Cup 2026 is built around volume, pressure, and momentum. The schedule is dense, the groups are balanced, and rankings only tell half the story. Early results will matter, net run rate will be crucial, and associate teams enter with genuine belief rather than caution. Get the ICC T20 World Cup API now!