ICC T20 World Cup 2026: Tournament to begin on February 7, final on March 8 - Check full schedule

NEW DELHI: The International Cricket Council (ICC) on Tuesday released the schedule for the 2026 T20 World Cup. The tournament will start on February 7 in Colombo with the match between Pakistan and the Netherlands, followed by the game between West Indies and Bangladesh.

India will begin their title defence later the same day against USA in Mumbai. India will then face Namibia in Delhi on February 12.

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The India-Pakistan match is scheduled for February 15 in Colombo. India will play their final group match against the Netherlands in Ahmedabad on February 18.

There will be three matches each day during the group stage.

Eight venues confirmed

The tournament will run from February 7 to March 8 across eight venues — five in India and three in Sri Lanka. The 20-team event will be jointly hosted by the two countries over 29 days.

The venues are: Narendra Modi Stadium (Ahmedabad), MA Chidambaram Stadium (Chennai), Arun Jaitley Stadium (New Delhi), Wankhede Stadium (Mumbai), Eden Gardens (Kolkata), R. Premadasa Stadium (Colombo), Sinhalese Sports Club Cricket Ground (Colombo) and Pallekele International Cricket Stadium (Kandy).

Under an agreement finalised earlier this year for multi-nation events hosted by India or Pakistan, the ICC has kept alternate knockout venues. If Pakistan reach the semifinal or final, those matches will be held in Colombo. If Pakistan do not qualify for the final, the title match will be played at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on March 8. Mumbai and Kolkata will host the two semifinals if Pakistan are not in the knockout stage.

T20 World Cup Groups

Group A: India, USA, Namibia, Netherlands, Pakistan
Group B: Australia, Sri Lanka, Zimbabwe, Ireland, Oman
Group C: England, West Indies, Bangladesh, Italy, Nepal
Group D: South Africa, New Zealand, Afghanistan, Canada, UAE

The Indian team walk into the 2026 World Cup as the defending champions, having lifted the trophy in 2024 under Rohit Sharma’s leadership.

Full schedule for 2026 T20 World CUP

Get the latest ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 updates, including the full schedule, teams, live scores, points table, and key series stats such as top run-scorers and wicket-takers.