With the tournament just three months away, the ICC has finally unveiled the tenth edition of the Men’s T20WC 2026 schedule on November 25, 2025. The tournament will be held from 7 February to 8 March in the subcontinent.
India and Sri Lanka will host the tournament as co-hosts. Five venues will host matches in India, while three in Sri Lanka. Ahmedabad will host the final; unless Pakistan qualifies for the knockouts, it will be played in Colombo. Pakistan will play all of its matches in Sri Lanka, including against India. As it was agreed in December 2024, all matches involving India and Pakistan at all ICC events hosted by India or Pakistan would be played at a neutral venue until at least 2027
India are the Defending Champions, having won the last edition by a thrilling seven runs against South Africa in Bridgetown. This title win also made India the joint most title holders of the Men’s T20 World Cup with England and the West Indies. All three teams have won two titles each.
ICC Announced Men’s T20WC 2026 Schedule and groupings
Like the previous edition, 20 teams will participate and are divided into four groups of five teams. The top two teams from each group will progress to the Super 8 round, again divided into two groups of four teams each.
The top two teams from each Super 8 group will play in the knockout stage. If Sri Lanka or Pakistan qualified for the knockouts, one of the semi-finals will be played in Sri Lanka.
As for the groupings, following the recent India-Pakistan political tensions, especially those that took place in the Asia Cup, it was stated that neither team will be slotted in the same group in order to avoid the clash. However, the schedule revealed said otherwise, as both teams are slotted in Group A alongside the Netherlands, Nepal and the USA.
Also Read: Tensions Rise Between India and Pakistan
Co-hosts and 2014 winners Sri Lanka are placed alongside 2021 winners Australia, Zimbabwe, Ireland and Oman. Sri Lanka finds themselves in a tougher group. Their recent performances in T20 cricket have been poor, and they have even lost to Zimbabwe twice in the ongoing tri-series in Pakistan. The Island nation were eliminated in round 1 of last year’s event and may find themselves in a similar position.
Two-time winners England and West Indies are in the same group, while 2021 and 2024 runners New Zealand and South Africa are placed alongside Afghanistan.
Italy will make their T20 World Cup debut after a stunning win in the European qualifiers over Scotland to ensure they stay ahead of Net Run Rate against Jersey.
| Group A | Group B | Group C | Group D |
| India | Australia | Bangladesh | Afghanistan |
| Namibia | Ireland | England | Canada |
| Netherlands | Oman | Italy | New Zealand |
| Pakistan | Sri Lanka | Nepal | South Africa |
| USA | Zimbabwe | West Indies | UAE |
Here is the complete schedule;
| Date | Group | Match | Venue |
| Feb 7 | A | Pakistan vs Netherlands | SSC, Colombo |
| C | West Indies vs Netherlands | Kolkata | |
| A | India vs USA | Mumbai | |
| Feb 8 | D | New Zealand vs Afghanistan | Chennai |
| C | England vs Nepal | Mumbai | |
| B | Sri Lanka vs Ireland | Premadasa, Colombo | |
| Feb 9 | C | Bangladesh vs Italy | Kolkata |
| B | Zimbabwe vs Oman | SSC, Colombo | |
| D | South Africa vs Canada | Ahmedabad | |
| Feb 10 | A | Netherlands vs Namibia | Delhi |
| D | New Zealand vs UAE | Chennai | |
| A | Pakistan vs USA | SSC, Colombo | |
| Feb 11 | D | South Africa vs Afghanistan | Ahmedabad |
| B | Australia vs Ireland | Premadasa, Colombo | |
| C | England vs West Indies | Mumbai | |
| Feb 12 | B | Sri Lanka vs Oman | Kandy |
| C | Nepal vs Italy | Mumbai | |
| A | India vs Namibia | Delhi | |
| Feb 13 | B | Australia vs Zimbabwe | Premadasa, Colombo |
| D | Canada vs UAE | Delhi | |
| A | USA vs Netherlands | Chennai | |
| Feb 14 | B | Ireland vs Oman | SSC, Colombo |
| C | England vs Bangladesh | Kolkata | |
| D | New Zealand vs South Africa | Ahmedabad | |
| Feb 15 | C | West Indies vs Nepal | Mumbai |
| A | USA vs Namibia | Chennai | |
| A | India vs Pakistan | Premadasa, Colombo | |
| Feb 16 | D | Afghanistan vs UAE | Delhi |
| C | England vs Italy | Kolkata | |
| B | Australia vs Sri Lanka | Kandy | |
| Feb 17 | D | Canada vs New Zealand | Chennai |
| B | Ireland vs Zimbabwe | Kandy | |
| C | Bangladesh vs Nepal | Mumbai | |
| Feb 18 | D | South Africa vs UAE | Delhi |
| A | Pakistan vs Namibia | SSC, Colombo | |
| A | India vs Netherlands | Ahmedabad | |
| Feb 19 | C | West Indies vs Italy | Kolkata |
| B | Sri Lanka vs Zimbabwe | Premadasa, Colombo | |
| D | Afghanistan vs Canada | Chennai | |
| Feb 20 | B | Australia vs Oman | Kandy |
| Super 8s | |||
| Feb 21 | Y | Y2 vs Y3 | Premadasa, Colombo |
| Feb 22 | Y | Y1 vs Y4 | Kandy |
| X | X1 vs X4 | Ahmedabad | |
| Feb 23 | X | X2 vs X3 | Mumbai |
| Feb 24 | Y | Y1 vs Y3 | Kandy |
| Feb 25 | Y | Y2 vs Y4 | Premadasa, Colombo |
| Feb 26 | X | X3 vs X4 | Ahmedabad |
| X | X1 vs X2 | Chennai | |
| Feb 27 | Y | Y1 vs Y2 | Premadasa, Colombo |
| Feb 28 | Y | Y3 vs Y4 | Kandy |
| Mar 1 | X | X2 vs X4 | Delhi |
| X | X1 vs X3 | Kolkata | |
| Knockout Stage | |||
| Mar 4 | SF 1 | Grp 1 topper vs Grp 2 Runner | Kolkata / Colombo* |
| Mar 5 | SF 2 | Grp 2 topper vs Grp 1 Runner | Mumbai |
| Mar 8 | The Final | SF1 vs SF 2 | Ahmedabad / Colombo* |
* If either Pakistan or Sri Lanka qualifies for the knockouts, the semi-final and the final will take place in Colombo
Pakistan’s Men’s T20WC 2026 Schedule, hosting history and previous performance
Since the turn of the decade, Pakistan’s performances in the first two events (2021 and 2022) were excellent, winning nine out of the 13 matches across two events. They reached the semi-finals in the 2021 tournament and ended as runners-up in the 2022 edition.
However, in the 2024 edition, Pakistan hit a low. They lost to a newcomer USA, and could not chase 120 against the eventual winners, India. They won against Canada and Ireland, but not so convincingly. It was their second-worst performance recorded in any of the Men’s T20 World Cups, with the 2016 edition still being the worst.
Also Read: Pakistan’s Lack of Acknowledgement Aggravates Fans’ Disappointment Post World Cup Exit
Overall, Pakistan have participated in all nine tournaments. They have qualified for the semi-finals six times in total and have won the tournament once in 2009.
The current team of Pakistan under Salman Ali Agha have not been so bad, but they have not been that convincing either. As for this moment, Pakistan have won 15 matches from 21 they have played since their series loss to Bangladesh in July. They are yet to lose a bilateral series and have won their last five matches. Though they are yet to be tested against stronger teams.
Since the 2024 T20 World Cup, Pakistan have won only one match in away SENA nations. And they have played against India three times, losing all. There are still flaws to the side with bowling, in particular, have been horrible both with the new and with the old ball. It is alarming that pace bowlers in particular, have been toothless in some of the matches.
Given all these circumstances, Pakistan doesn’t look to progress more than just Super 8s.
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