T20 Word Cup 2026: The 2026 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup is likely to be played between February 7 and March 8, with India and Sri Lanka jointly hosting the event, a report from ESPNcricinfo suggests. The tournament will feature 20 teams and matches are expected to be spread across at least five venues in India and two in Sri Lanka.
The venue for the final will depend on Pakistan’s participation. If Pakistan reaches the title clash, the final will be staged in Ahmedabad; otherwise, Colombo will host it. This decision reflects the ongoing political tensions that prevent India and Pakistan from playing matches in each other’s countries.
While the ICC is yet to release the official schedule, it has already identified the window for the competition and informed the participating nations, reports ESPNcricinfo.
So far, 15 teams have booked their places in the tournament. These include hosts India and Sri Lanka, along with Afghanistan, Australia, Bangladesh, England, South Africa, West Indies, New Zealand, and Pakistan. The USA, Ireland, Canada, Netherlands, and Italy have also secured qualification, with Italy making history by entering a T20 World Cup for the very first time. The remaining five spots will be decided through regional qualifiers, with two teams coming from Africa and three from the Asia and East Asia-Pacific pathways.
The format will mirror the 2024 edition that was held in the USA and the West Indies. The 20 sides will be divided into four groups of five, with the top two from each group advancing to the Super Eight stage. The Super Eight will split the teams into two groups of four, and from there, the top two in each group will progress to the semi-finals. The winners will then meet in the final. In total, the tournament will consist of 55 matches.
India will go into the competition as the defending champions, having defeated South Africa in the 2024 final in Barbados.
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