ICC Men's T20 World Cup - everything you need to know
- indiasportsgroup
- 4 hours ago
- 3 min read
It is almost time for the 2026 ICC Men's T20 World Cup in India and Sri Lanka.
India head into the tournament as defending champions following their success in the Caribbean and United States in 2024.
They are strong favourites in their home conditions - but the unpredictable nature of T20 cricket makes for an exciting tournament.
Here is a full guide to the 10th edition of the men's 20-over global showpiece.
The 2026 Men's T20 World Cup starts on 7 February at 05:30 GMT with Pakistan facing the Netherlands in Colombo.
It is one of three games on the opening day, with the West Indies v Scotland at 09:30 and India v USA at 15:30.
The initial 20-team group stage, that sees four groups of five, continues until 20 February, with three games every day at the same times as above, bar the final day when there is just one game at 13:30.
The Super 8s follow with one or two games a day at 09:30 and 13:30, before the semi-finals across 4 and 5 March.
The final is on Sunday, 8 March at 13:30 BST in Ahmedabad.
The 2026 Men's T20 World Cup follows the same format as 2024, which was the tournament's biggest with 20 sides taking part.
All of the teams are involved from the off in an initial group stage, with each side playing four games and the top two progressing to the Super 8s.
The Super 8s, which will take place across India and Sri Lanka, will consist of two groups of four, with eight sides seeded to help with the planning and schedule.
Those eight sides are: Australia, India, South Africa, West Indies (Group 1) and England, New Zealand, Pakistan and Sri Lanka (Group 2).
Should those sides progress they will go into their respective group based on their seeding, rather than their finishing position in the initial group phase.
In the Super 8s, the top two teams progress to the semi-finals with the winner of each group facing the runner-up in the other.
Throughout both phases teams are awarded two points for a win, one for a no result and zero for a loss. There's no ties in T20 cricket - more on that below!
All 12 Test-playing nations have qualified for the tournament after Zimbabwe came through their qualifying stage.
Italy are the only tournament debutants, while Canada are at their first global tournament since 2014.
Scotland were a late replacement for Bangladesh, who pulled out of the tournament after the governing body, the International Cricket Council (ICC), refused to meet their request to play their matches in Sri Lanka rather than India due to safety concerns amid rising tensions between the two countries.
Scotland, who were the highest-ranked side to not qualify, took Bangladesh's place in Group C and will fulfill their fixtures as scheduled.
Pakistan also considered a full boycott, but their government has decided it can play in the tournament, apart from the game against India on 15 February. The impact of that decision is yet to be communicated by the ICC.
They will play their games in Sri Lanka as part of an agreement reached in 2024 around India and Pakistan matches not being played in the other country.
The 20 sides are split into the following four groups in the initial phase:
Group A: India (X1), Namibia, Netherlands, Pakistan (Y3), USA
Group B: Australia (X2), Ireland, Oman, Sri Lanka (Y4), Zimbabwe
Group C: England (Y1), Italy, Nepal, Scotland, West Indies (X3)
Group D: Afghanistan, Canada, New Zealand (Y2), South Africa (X4), United Arab Emirates
Comments