20 teams will take part in the competition, with four groups of five teams each.
It was not long ago when the Men in Blue lifted the T20 World Cup in the Caribbean under the leadership of Rohit Sharma. That being said, it is again time to be a part of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026, which would be hosted by India and Sri Lanka. The schedule for the tournament has been announced by the authorities.
The tournament which will commence from February 7 is expected to contain 20 teams, which are placed in groups of five teams each. The tournament will be played across five venues in India as well as two venues from Sri Lanka. Pakistan will be playing all their fixtures in Sri Lanka. To add to that, the venues for the semi-final or Final will be decided on whether Pakistan qualify.
The International Cricket Council (ICC) released the groups consisting five teams each, a few days ago. However, with the top-two teams qualifying from each group into the Super 8s, the competition is likely to get tougher as the day goes by.
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As far as Group A is concerned, India and Pakistan are the only Test playing nations, along with the U.S.A., the Netherlands and Namibia. Pakistan suffered a heart-breaking loss from the hands of the U.S.A. in 2024, and would be completely aware of what could go wrong.
Australia and Sri Lanka emerge as the clear favourites from Group B, and are slated alongside Zimbabwe, Ireland and Oman. The major hurdle for the two teams would be if and when they make it to the bigger stage (Super 8s).
Group C is one of the most exciting groups in the tournament, featuring a debutant in Italy. The group consists of England, the West Indies, Italy, Nepal and Bangladesh. England and Bangladesh would be battling it out for a spot in the Super 8s, along with the West Indies. That being said, one can never rule out teams like Nepal, considering the quality they possess.
Group D is expected to get interesting towards the later stages, with the quality of the teams. South Africa, New Zealand and Afghanistan are all white-ball powerhouses who will have the UAE and Canada alongside them.

A total of eight venues have been shortlisted for the ICC event with five from India and three from Sri Lanka. The Indian venues are – Arun Jaitley Stadium (Delhi), Eden Gardens (Kolkata), Narendra Modi Stadium (Ahmedabad), Wankhede Stadium (Mumbai) and MA Chidambaram Stadium (Chennai). The venues in Sri Lanka are Pallekele International Cricket Stadium (Kandy), Sinhalese Sports Club and R.Premadasa Stadium (Colombo).
| Date | Time | Team 1 | Team 2 | Venue |
| 07 Feb 2026 | 11:00 AM | PAK | NED | SSC, Colombo |
| 07 Feb 2026 | 3:00 PM | WI | BAN | Kolkata |
| 07 Feb 2026 | 7:00 PM | IND | USA | Mumbai |
| 08 Feb 2026 | 11:00 AM | NZ | AFG | Chennai |
| 08 Feb 2026 | 3:00 PM | ENG | NEP | Mumbai |
| 08 Feb 2026 | 7:00 PM | SL | IRE | Premadasa, Colombo |
| 09 Feb 2026 | 11:00 AM | BAN | ITA | Kolkata |
| 09 Feb 2026 | 3:00 PM | ZIM | OMA | SSC, Colombo |
| 09 Feb 2026 | 7:00 PM | SA | CAN | Ahmedabad |
| 10 Feb 2026 | 11:00 AM | NED | NAM | Delhi |
| 10 Feb 2026 | 3:00 PM | NZ | UAE | Chennai |
| 10 Feb 2026 | 7:00 PM | PAK | USA | SSC, Colombo |
| 11 Feb 2026 | 11:00 AM | SA | AFG | Ahmedabad |
| 11 Feb 2026 | 3:00 PM | AUS | IRE | Premadasa, Colombo |
| 11 Feb 2026 | 7:00 PM | ENG | WI | Mumbai |
| 12 Feb 2026 | 11:00 AM | SL | OMA | Kandy |
| 12 Feb 2026 | 3:00 PM | NEP | ITA | Mumbai |
| 12 Feb 2026 | 7:00 PM | IND | NAM | Delhi |
| 13 Feb 2026 | 11:00 AM | AUS | ZIM | Premadasa, Colombo |
| 13 Feb 2026 | 3:00 PM | CAN | UAE | Delhi |
| 13 Feb 2026 | 7:00 PM | USA | NED | Chennai |
| 14 Feb 2026 | 11:00 AM | IRE | OMA | SSC, Colombo |
| 14 Feb 2026 | 3:00 PM | ENG | BAN | Kolkata |
| 14 Feb 2026 | 7:00 PM | NZ | SA | Ahmedabad |
| 15 Feb 2026 | 11:00 AM | WI | NEP | Mumbai |
| 15 Feb 2026 | 3:00 PM | USA | NAM | Chennai |
| 15 Feb 2026 | 7:00 PM | IND | PAK | Premadasa, Colombo |
| 16 Feb 2026 | 11:00 AM | AFG | UAE | Delhi |
| 16 Feb 2026 | 3:00 PM | ENG | ITA | Kolkata |
| 16 Feb 2026 | 7:00 PM | AUS | SL | Kandy |
| 17 Feb 2026 | 11:00 AM | NZ | CAN | Chennai |
| 17 Feb 2026 | 3:00 PM | IRE | ZIM | Kandy |
| 17 Feb 2026 | 7:00 PM | BAN | NEP | Mumbai |
| 18 Feb 2026 | 11:00 AM | SA | UAE | Delhi |
| 18 Feb 2026 | 3:00 PM | PAK | NAM | SSC, Colombo |
| 18 Feb 2026 | 7:00 PM | IND | NED | Ahmedabad |
| 19 Feb 2026 | 11:00 AM | WI | ITA | Kolkata |
| 19 Feb 2026 | 3:00 PM | SL | ZIM | Premadasa, Colombo |
| 19 Feb 2026 | 7:00 PM | AFG | CAN | Chennai |
| 20 Feb 2026 | 7:00 PM | AUS | OMA | Kandy |
| 21 Feb 2026 | 7:00 PM | Y2 | Y3 | Premadasa, Colombo |
| 22 Feb 2026 | 3:00 PM | Y1 | Y4 | Kandy |
| 22 Feb 2026 | 7:00 PM | X1 | X4 | Ahmedabad |
| 23 Feb 2026 | 7:00 PM | X2 | X3 | Mumbai |
| 24 Feb 2026 | 7:00 PM | Y1 | Y3 | Kandy |
| 25 Feb 2026 | 7:00 PM | Y2 | Y4 | Premadasa, Colombo |
| 26 Feb 2026 | 3:00 PM | X3 | X4 | Ahmedabad |
| 26 Feb 2026 | 7:00 PM | X1 | X2 | Chennai |
| 27 Feb 2026 | 7:00 PM | Y1 | Y2 | Premadasa, Colombo |
| 28 Feb 2026 | 7:00 PM | Y3 | Y4 | Kandy |
| 01 Mar 2026 | 3:00 PM | X2 | X4 | Delhi |
| 01 Mar 2026 | 7:00 PM | X1 | X3 | Kolkata |
| 04 Mar 2026 | 7:00 PM | SF1 | KO | Kolkata |
| 04 Mar 2026 | 7:00 PM | SF1 | KO | Premadasa, Colombo |
| 05 Mar 2026 | 7:00 PM | SF2 | KO | Mumbai |
| 08 Mar 2026 | 7:00 PM | FINAL | KO | Ahmedabad/Colombo |
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