The ICC T20 World Cup 2026 marks the tenth edition of the tournament and returns to South Asia after the 2024 event in the West Indies and the USA. India and Sri Lanka are hosting the competition from February 7 to March 8 across eight venues.
India entered the tournament as defending champions after beating South Africa by seven runs in the 2024 final in Barbados. The format remains identical to the previous edition, with 20 teams divided into four groups of five, followed by the Super 8 stage and knockout rounds.
The group stage produced several surprises, including Italy making its first-ever World Cup appearance. With the Super 8 matches now underway, teams are battling for the final four spots as the tournament moves closer to the semi-finals.
Full Schedule & Results Of The 2026 ICC T20 World Cup
The world’s largest cricket venue, Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, has been earmarked to host the final. Five Indian cities host matches at Ahmedabad, Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai, and Mumbai.
Sri Lanka uses Colombo’s two grounds plus Pallekele Stadium in Kandy. Pakistan will play all their matches in Sri Lanka per the BCCI-PCB neutral venue agreement.
| Date | Match | Score | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Feb 7 | Netherlands vs Pakistan | NED 147 (19.5) • PAK 148/7 (19.3) | Pakistan won by 3 wkts |
| Feb 7 | West Indies vs Scotland | WI 182/5 (20) • SCO 147 (18.5) | West Indies won by 35 runs |
| Feb 7 | India vs USA | IND 161/9 (20) • USA 132/8 (20) | India won by 29 runs |
| Feb 8 | Afghanistan vs New Zealand | AFG 182/6 (20) • NZ 183/5 (17.5) | New Zealand won by 5 wkts |
| Feb 8 | England vs Nepal | ENG 184/7 (20) • NEP 180/6 (20) | England won by 4 runs |
| Feb 8 | Sri Lanka vs Ireland | SL 163/6 (20) • IRE 143 (19.5) | Sri Lanka won by 20 runs |
| Feb 9 | Scotland vs Italy | SCO 207/4 (20) • ITA 134 (16.4) | Scotland won by 73 runs |
| Feb 9 | Oman vs Zimbabwe | OMN 103 (19.5) • ZIM 106/2 (13.3) | Zimbabwe won by 8 wkts |
| Feb 9 | South Africa vs Canada | SA 213/4 (20) • CAN 156/8 (20) | South Africa won by 57 runs |
| Feb 10 | Namibia vs Netherlands | NAM 156/8 (20) • NED 159/3 (18) | Netherlands won by 7 wkts |
| Feb 10 | UAE vs New Zealand | UAE 173/6 (20) • NZ 175/0 (15.2) | New Zealand won by 10 wkts |
| Feb 10 | Pakistan vs USA | PAK 190/9 (20) • USA 158/8 (20) | Pakistan won by 32 runs |
| Feb 11 | South Africa vs Afghanistan | SA 187/6 • AFG 187 | SA won in 2nd Super Over |
| Feb 11 | Australia vs Ireland | AUS 182/6 (20) • IRE 115 (16.5) | Australia won by 67 runs |
| Feb 11 | West Indies vs England | WI 196/6 (20) • ENG 166 (19) | West Indies won by 30 runs |
| Feb 12 | Sri Lanka vs Oman | SL 225/5 (20) • OMN 120/9 (20) | Sri Lanka won by 105 runs |
| Feb 12 | Nepal vs Italy | NEP 123 (19.3) • ITA 124/0 (12.4) | Italy won by 10 wkts |
| Feb 12 | India vs Namibia | IND 209/9 (20) • NAM 116 (18.2) | India won by 93 runs |
| Feb 13 | Zimbabwe vs Australia | ZIM 169/2 (20) • AUS 146 (19.3) | Zimbabwe won by 23 runs |
| Feb 13 | Canada vs UAE | CAN 150/7 (20) • UAE 151/5 (19.4) | UAE won by 5 wkts |
| Feb 13 | USA vs Netherlands | USA 196/6 (20) • NED 103 (15.5) | USA won by 93 runs |
| Feb 14 | Ireland vs Oman | IRE 235/5 (20) • OMN 139 (18) | Ireland won by 96 runs |
| Feb 14 | Scotland vs England | SCO 152 (19.4) • ENG 155/5 (18.2) | England won by 5 wkts |
| Feb 14 | New Zealand vs South Africa | NZ 175/7 (20) • SA 178/3 (17.1) | South Africa won by 7 wkts |
| Feb 15 | Nepal vs West Indies | NEP 133/8 (20) • WI 134/1 (15.2) | West Indies won by 9 wkts |
| Feb 15 | USA vs Namibia | USA 199/4 (20) • NAM 168/6 (20) | USA won by 31 runs |
| Feb 15 | India vs Pakistan | IND 175/7 (20) • PAK 114 (18) | India won by 61 runs |
| Feb 16 | UAE vs Afghanistan | UAE 160/9 (20) • AFG 162/5 (19.2) | Afghanistan won by 5 wkts |
| Feb 16 | England vs Italy | ENG 202/7 (20) • ITA 178 (20) | England won by 24 runs |
| Feb 16 | Australia vs Sri Lanka | AUS 181 (20) • SL 184/2 (18) | Sri Lanka won by 8 wkts |
| Feb 17 | Canada vs New Zealand | CAN 173/4 (20) • NZ 176/2 (15.1) | New Zealand won by 8 wkts |
| Feb 17 | Ireland vs Zimbabwe | — | Match abandoned |
| Feb 17 | Scotland vs Nepal | SCO 170/7 (20) • NEP 171/3 (19.2) | Nepal won by 7 wkts |
| Feb 18 | UAE vs South Africa | UAE 122/6 (20) • SA 123/4 (13.2) | South Africa won by 6 wkts |
| Feb 18 | Pakistan vs Namibia | PAK 199/3 (20) • NAM 97 (17.3) | Pakistan won by 102 runs |
| Feb 18 | India vs Netherlands | IND 193/6 (20) • NED 176/7 (20) | India won by 17 runs |
| Feb 19 | West Indies vs Italy | WI 165/6 (20) • ITA 123 (18) | West Indies won by 42 runs |
| Feb 19 | Sri Lanka vs Zimbabwe | SL 178/7 (20) • ZIM 182/4 (19.3) | Zimbabwe won by 6 wkts |
| Feb 19 | Afghanistan vs Canada | AFG 200/4 (20) • CAN 118/8 (20) | Afghanistan won by 82 runs |
| Feb 20 | Oman vs Australia | OMN 104 (16.2) • AUS 108/1 (9.4) | Australia won by 9 wkts |
| Feb 21 | Pakistan vs New Zealand | — | Match abandoned |
| Feb 22 | England vs Sri Lanka | ENG 146/9 (20) • SL 95 (16.4) | England won by 51 runs |
| Feb 22 | South Africa vs India | SA 187/7 (20) • IND 111 (18.5) | South Africa won by 76 runs |
| Feb 23 | West Indies vs Zimbabwe | WI 254/6 (20) • ZIM 147 (17.4) | West Indies won by 107 runs |
| Feb 24 | Pakistan vs England | PAK 164/9 (20) • ENG 166/8 (19.1) | England won by 2 wkts |
| Feb 25 | New Zealand vs Sri Lanka | NZ 168/7 (20) • SL 107/8 (20) | New Zealand won by 61 runs |
| Feb 26 | West Indies vs South Africa | WI 176/8 (20) • SA 177/1 (16.1) | South Africa won by 9 wkts |
| Feb 26 | India vs Zimbabwe | IND 256/4 (20) • ZIM 184/6 (20) | India won by 72 runs |
Upcoming Matches
| Date | Match | Venue | Time (IST) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Feb 27, 2026 | England vs New Zealand | R. Premadasa Stadium, Colombo | 7:00 PM |
| Feb 28, 2026 | Pakistan vs Sri Lanka | Pallekele International Stadium | 7:00 PM |
| Mar 1, 2026 | Zimbabwe vs South Africa | Arun Jaitley Stadium, Delhi | 3:00 PM |
| Mar 1, 2026 | India vs West Indies | Eden Gardens, Kolkata | 7:00 PM |
| Mar 4, 2026 | Semi Final 1 | TBC | 7:00 PM |
| Mar 5, 2026 | Semi Final 2 | Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai | 7:00 PM |
| Mar 8, 2026 | Final | TBC | 7:00 PM |
The tournament follows a pre-determined seeding system for the Super 8 stage. India, England, Australia, New Zealand, West Indies, Pakistan, South Africa, and Sri Lanka received seeds based on ICC rankings as of July 25, 2025.
Teams that qualify from their respective groups replace any seeded team that fails to advance. The first semi-final takes place at R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo if Pakistan qualifies, or Eden Gardens in Kolkata if not.
Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium hosts the second semi-final on March 5. If India meets Pakistan in the semi-finals, that match shifts to Colombo while Mumbai hosts the other fixture.
ICC T20 World Cup 2026 Timeline & Venue
The tournament begins February 7 with Pakistan facing the Netherlands in Colombo, while India opens against the USA at Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.
Group stages run until February 20, before the Super 8 phase from February 21 to March 1. Semi-finals take place on March 4 and 5, with the final on March 8 at Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, unless Pakistan qualifies, which shifts it to Colombo.
Groups & Teams Of The ICC T20 World Cup 2026
The ICC announced groups and fixtures on November 25 at an event in Mumbai featuring Jay Shah, Rohit Sharma, Suryakumar Yadav, and Harmanpreet Kaur.
Italy becomes the 25th different nation to qualify for the tournament since 2007. All Group B matches will be played exclusively in Sri Lankan venues.
| Group A | Group B | Group C | Group D |
|---|---|---|---|
| India | Australia | England | South Africa |
| USA | Sri Lanka | West Indies | New Zealand |
| Namibia | Zimbabwe | Scotland | Afghanistan |
| Netherlands | Ireland | Italy | Canada |
| Pakistan | Oman | Nepal | UAE |
Italy qualified for their first World Cup by edging Jersey on net run rate despite losing to the Netherlands by nine wickets in the Europe Qualifier final. Ben Manenti scored 30, and Grant Stewart added 25 as Italy posted 134 for seven.
They needed to avoid a heavy defeat and stretched the Dutch chase to 16.2 overs. Jersey shocked Scotland with a one-wicket victory off the final ball but missed out on qualification.
Former Australian Test batsman Joe Burns captains Italy through his mother’s Italian heritage. England Lions player Emilio Gay features in the squad alongside players who moved from India and Sri Lanka.
Afghanistan reached their first semi-final at the 2024 World Cup, thrashing New Zealand by 84 runs. The USA made history by reaching the Super Eight stage in 2024 after victories against Canada and Pakistan.
Group D shapes up as the toughest with South Africa, New Zealand, and Afghanistan together. Australia and Sri Lanka meet in Group B while India and Pakistan clash on February 15 in Colombo.
England face Italy on February 16 in what will be the Italians’ third match of the tournament. Nepal qualified through the Asia Qualifier after defeating UAE and Qatar.
Bangladesh struggled in 2024, losing a series to the USA before the World Cup. Zimbabwe and Namibia secured their places after reaching the finals of the Africa Qualifiers in October 2025. West Indies recently swept South Africa 3-0 in a home T20I series.
Oman qualified alongside Nepal from the Asia region. Canada took the lone Americas spot, while the Netherlands joined Italy from Europe.
Where To Watch The 2026 ICC T20 World Cup?
Sky Sports broadcasts the tournament in the UK through 2031 per their direct ICC partnership. Streaming is available through Sky Go and NOW TV platforms without contracts. BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra provides audio commentary.
Star Sports Network handles television coverage in India while JioHotstar manages digital streaming. Other broadcasters include SuperSport for sub-Saharan Africa, ESPN for the Caribbean, and Willow TV for North America.
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Conclusion: Super 8 Stage Sets Up the Semi Final Race
The ICC T20 World Cup 2026 has now reached its decisive phase as the Super 8 stage determines which teams advance to the semi finals. With the tournament running from February 7 to March 8 across India and Sri Lanka, the final weeks promise some of the most important matches of the competition.
Traditional powers such as India, England, Pakistan, and South Africa are fighting for a place in the knockout rounds, while teams like West Indies and New Zealand continue to challenge strongly. Italy’s historic debut and Scotland’s late inclusion added fresh storylines to the tournament.
The Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad remains the leading candidate to host the final if Pakistan does not qualify, with the venue capable of welcoming more than 130,000 spectators. As the semi finals approach, the race to lift the T20 World Cup trophy is becoming increasingly intense, with several contenders still in the hunt.
FAQs
The first semi-final takes place at R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo or Eden Gardens in Kolkata, depending on Pakistan’s qualification. Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai hosts the second semi-final. The final is held at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.
Scotland lost to Jersey by one wicket off the final ball in the Europe Qualifier. Jersey needed that victory to have any chance at qualification. Despite Jersey winning, Italy advanced on a superior net run rate after both teams finished with five points.
The tournament uses a five-step tiebreaker system. Points come first, followed by number of wins. If still tied, the net run rate decides the ranking.
Virat Kohli announced his T20I retirement immediately after India won the 2024 final in Barbados. Rohit Sharma also stepped away from the format following the victory. Ravindra Jadeja made the same decision.
Asian teams won four of the nine previous editions. India claimed titles in 2007 and 2024. Pakistan won in 2009. Sri Lanka lifted the trophy in 2014. West Indies leads with two championships, while England also has two. Australia won once in 2021.
