2026 Men's T20 World Cup
 | |
| Dates | 7 February – 8 March 2026 |
|---|---|
| Administrator | International Cricket Council |
| Cricket format | Twenty20 International |
| Tournament format(s) | Group stage, Super 8s and Knockout stage |
| Hosts |
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| Participants | 20 |
| Matches | 55 |
| Official website | icc-cricket.com |
| Part of a series on the |
| 2026 T20 World Cup |
|---|
Men's:  Category •  CommonsWomen's: Category • Commons |
| Men's T20 World Cup |
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Men's Qualification Overview |
| Women's T20 World Cup |
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Women's Qualification Overview |
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Men's T20WC Women's T20WC |
The 2026 ICC Men's T20 World Cup will be the tenth edition of the ICC Men's T20 World Cup, co-hosted by Board of Control for Cricket in India and Sri Lanka Cricket from 7 February to 8 March 2026. Sri Lanka had previously hosted the competition in 2012 and India in 2016. A total of twenty teams will compete in 55 matches across five venues in India, and three in Sri Lanka.
The number of participants remained as twenty teams, which included teams from the two hosts, the top seven teams from the 2024 edition, the three highest-ranked teams in the ICC Men's T20I Team Rankings not already qualified, and eight other teams determined through regional qualifiers. Italy qualified for the men's T20 World Cup for the first time.
India are the defending champions.
Background
[edit]The ICC Men's T20 World Cup is a biennial world cup for cricket in Twenty20 International (T20I) format, organised by the International Cricket Council (ICC). It was first played in 2007 in South Africa, and the 2026 tournament marked its tenth edition.[1] The ninth edition, held in 2024 in West Indies and United States, was contested by 20 teams, and was won by India who defeated South Africa in the final.[2]
Host selection
[edit]In November 2021, as part of the 2024–2031 ICC men's hosts cycle, the ICC announced that the 2026 Men's T20 World Cup would be played in India and Sri Lanka.[3] Initially only Sri Lanka Cricket was proposed to host the entire tournament but due to expansion of the tournament and lack of stadiums in Sri Lanka it was decided to be co-hosted with Board of Control for Cricket in India.[4] Sri Lanka had previously hosted the competition in 2012 and India in 2016.[5] Following an agreement between the Board of Control for Cricket in India and Pakistan Cricket Board in December 2024, the ICC confirmed that matches involving India and Pakistan at ICC events hosted by India or Pakistan in the 2024–2027 ICC Events cycle would be played at a neutral venue.[6] As a result, any matches involving Pakistan in the 2026 Men's T20 World Cup will be played only in Sri Lanka.[7]
Format
[edit]The tournament's format will remain the same as the previous edition. The 20 qualifying teams were divided into four groups of five each. In the group stage, each team will play four matches against one another in a round-robin; the top two teams in each group will advance to the Super 8 stage, where they will be placed into two groups of four teams each, and will play three matches against one another. The top two teams in each group will advance to the knockout stage.[8]
Prior to the tournament, the ICC announced the eight seeded teams for the Super 8 stage based on their T20I rankings ahead of the tournament. After advancing from the group stage, the teams would be placed in predetermined positions in the Super 8 stage, irrespective of their position in the group stage. If an unseeded team qualified at the expense of a seeded team, it would take the position of the corresponding seeded team that failed to qualify from their group.[8]
Schedule
[edit]February to March 2026 was allocated to the tournament on the 2023–2027 ICC Men's Future Tours Programme.[9] The finalized schedule was announced on 25 November 2025, with the tournament scheduled to take place from 7 February to 8 March. The teams will play 55 matches with three venues in Sri Lanka hosting at least 20 matches and the rest of the matches hosted at five venues in India.[5][10] The warm-up fixtures are yet to be revealed.
Prize money
[edit]The champions will get around $3 million in 2026 compared to $2.45 million given to 2024 champions. Below is the official breakdown of 2026 T20 World Cup Prize money fund.
| STAGE | T20 World Cup 2024 | T20 World Cup 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Participation Fee | $250,000 each | $300,000 each |
| 5th to 12th placed teams | $380,000 each | $450,000 each |
| Losing Semifinalists | $790,000 each | $960,000 each |
| Runners-up | $1.28 million | $1.6 million |
| Champions | $2.45 million | $3 million |
| Total | $11.25 million | $13.50 million |
ICC has increased the T20 World Cup prize money fund on third consecutive time and according to ICC spokesman, ICC plan to take total prize money fund T20 world cups to around $30 million for each event by 2030.
Marketing
[edit]Former title-winning captain Rohit Sharma was named as an ambassador of the tournament.[11]
Qualification
[edit]The hosts, Sri Lanka and India, along with the top seven teams from the 2024 tournament, automatically qualified for the tournament. The remaining three automatic qualification places were taken by the best-ranked teams in the ICC Men's T20I Team Rankings, which had not already qualified as of 30 June 2024 The eight remaining places were filled via the ICC's regional qualifiers, consisting of two teams each from Africa and Europe, three teams combine from Asia and East Asia-Pacific and one team from the Americas groups.[12][13][14] In June 2025, Canada qualified from the Americas final,[15] followed by Italy and Netherlands from the Europe final in July.[16] In October 2025, Namibia and Zimbabwe qualified from the Africa final,[17] followed by Nepal, Oman and United Arab Emirates from the combined Asia-EAP final.[18] Italy qualified for the men's T20 World Cup for the first time.[19]
| Method of qualification | No. of teams | Teams | T20I ranking[a] |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hosts | 2 |  India |
1 |
 Sri Lanka |
8 | ||
| 2024 Men's T20 World Cup (Top 7 teams from the previous tournament, excluding hosts.) |
7 |  Afghanistan |
10 |
 Australia |
2 | ||
 Bangladesh |
9 | ||
 England |
3 | ||
 South Africa |
5 | ||
 United States |
18 | ||
 West Indies |
6 | ||
| ICC Men's T20I Team Rankings | 3 |  Ireland |
11 |
 New Zealand |
4 | ||
 Pakistan |
7 | ||
| Americas Qualifier | 1 |  Canada |
19 |
| Europe Qualifier | 2 |  Italy |
28 |
 Netherlands |
13 | ||
| Africa Qualifier | 2 |  Namibia |
15 |
 Zimbabwe |
12 | ||
| Asia–EAP Qualifier | 3 |  Nepal |
17 |
 Oman |
20 | ||
 United Arab Emirates |
16 | ||
| Total | 20 |
- ^ The ICC Men's T20I Team Rankings of the respective team in November 2025.
Venues
[edit]On 6 November 2025, the ICC announced the finalised venues for the T20 World Cup, five in India: Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, M. A. Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai, Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi, Eden Gardens in Kolkata and Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai; and three in Sri Lanka: R. Premadasa Stadium and SSC Cricket Ground in Colombo and Pallekele Cricket Stadium in Kandy.[21][5]
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Squads
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Match officials
[edit] | This section is empty. You can help by adding to it. (November 2025) |
Warm-up matches
[edit]Warm-up matches
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Group stage
[edit]The ICC announced the groups and fixtures on 25 November 2025, with group stage being played from 7 to 20 February.[5][10] The 20 teams were divided into four groups of five with each team facing the other teams in the group for a total of 40 matches.[8] The opening match will be played between Netherlands and Pakistan at SSC Cricket Ground on 7 February.[23] The following table lists teams in order of their initial group-stage seedings.[24]
| Group A | Group B | Group C | Group D |
|---|---|---|---|
Group A
[edit]| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | NR | Pts | NRR | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | India (H)
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | Advance to the Super 8 stage |
| 2 | Namibia
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | |
| 3 | Netherlands
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | |
| 4 | Pakistan
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | |
| 5 | United States
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Wins; 3) Net run rate; 4) Results of games between tied teams; 5) Initial group stage seedings
(H) Hosts
Group B
[edit]| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | NR | Pts | NRR | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Australia
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | Advance to the Super 8 stage |
| 2 | Ireland
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | |
| 3 | Oman
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | |
| 4 | Sri Lanka (H)
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | |
| 5 | Zimbabwe
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Wins; 3) Net run rate; 4) Results of games between tied teams; 5) Initial group stage seedings
(H) Hosts
Group C
[edit]| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | NR | Pts | NRR | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bangladesh
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | Advance to the Super 8 stage |
| 2 | England
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | |
| 3 | Italy
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | |
| 4 | Nepal
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | |
| 5 | West Indies
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Wins; 3) Net run rate; 4) Results of games between tied teams; 5) Initial group stage seedings
Group D
[edit]| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | NR | Pts | NRR | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Afghanistan
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | Advance to the Super 8 stage |
| 2 | Canada
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | |
| 3 | New Zealand
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | |
| 4 | South Africa
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | |
| 5 | United Arab Emirates
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Wins; 3) Net run rate; 4) Results of games between tied teams; 5) Initial group stage seedings
Super 8
[edit]The top two teams from groups A to D will advance to the Super 8 stage, where they will be divided into two groups of four teams each. In the Super 8 stage, each team will play the others in their group as a round-robin, with the top two teams from each group advancing to the knockout stage.[8] No points will be carried over from the group stage to the Super 8 stage. Prior to the tournament, eight teams had been seeded for the Super 8 stage based on their T20I rankings at that time: Australia, India, South Africa, and the West Indies in Group 1; England, New Zealand, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka in Group 2.[5][10]
| Qualification | Super 8 stage | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Group 1 | Group 2 | ||
| Advanced from the group stage (Top 2 teams from each group) |
A |
X1 | Y3 |
B |
X2 | Y4 | |
C |
X3 | Y1 | |
D |
X4 | Y2 | |
Group 1
[edit]| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | NR | Pts | NRR | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | X1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | Advance to the knockout stage |
| 2 | X2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | |
| 3 | X3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | |
| 4 | X4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Wins; 3) Net run rate; 4) Results of games between tied teams; 5) T20I Rankings ahead of the tournament
Group 2
[edit]| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | NR | Pts | NRR | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Y1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | Advance to the knockout stage |
| 2 | Y2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | |
| 3 | Y3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | |
| 4 | Y4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Wins; 3) Net run rate; 4) Results of games between tied teams; 5) T20I Rankings ahead of the tournament
Knockout stage
[edit]The knockout stage consists of two semi-finals on 4 and 5 March, and a final on 8 March.[8] The semi-final 2 will be held on Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai, while the semi-final 1 and the final are scheduled to be held on Eden Gardens in Kolkata and Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad respectively, but both will be moved R. Premadasa Stadium in Colombo if Pakistan qualifies.[22]
Rules
[edit] | This section is empty. You can help by adding to it. (November 2025) |
Bracket
[edit]| Semi-finals | Final | ||||||||
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Semi-finals
[edit]Final
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ "T20 World Cup winners: India, West Indies and England tied on two titles each - full list of champions". Olympics.com. 29 June 2024.
- ^ "India win T20 World Cup 2024, stun South Africa by 7 runs in final as Bumrah, Hardik nail finish". The Indian Express. 29 June 2024. Archived from the original on 29 June 2024. Retrieved 29 June 2024.
- ^ "USA to stage T20 World Cup: 2024–2031 ICC Men's tournament hosts confirmed". International Cricket Council. 16 November 2021. Archived from the original on 5 December 2021. Retrieved 20 February 2025.
- ^ "India to host 2026 T20 World Cup with Sri Lanka, 2031 ODI World Cup with Bangladesh". Deccan Herald. Retrieved 9 January 2024.
- ^ a b c d e "ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2026 schedule announced". International Cricket Council. 25 November 2025. Retrieved 27 November 2025.
- ^ "Update issued on India and Pakistan hosted matches at ICC events". International Cricket Council. 19 December 2024. Retrieved 19 December 2024.
- ^ Ridley, Rob (28 November 2025). "Venues confirmed for Men's T20 World Cup". The Stadium Business. Retrieved 29 November 2025.
- ^ a b c d e "T20 World Cup 2026 schedule: India grouped with Pakistan, England with West Indies". ESPNcricinfo. 25 November 2025. Retrieved 20 February 2025.
- ^ "2023–2027 ICC Men's FTP" (PDF). ICC Men's Future Tours Programme. 4. International Cricket Council. 17 August 2022. Archived (PDF) from the original on 9 February 2025. Retrieved 21 February 2025 – via ESPNcricinfo.
- ^ a b c "Fixtures, groups released for ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2026". International Cricket Council. 25 November 2025. Retrieved 27 November 2025.
- ^ "Rohit Sharma named Men's T20 World Cup tournament ambassador". International Cricket Council. Retrieved 25 November 2025.
- ^ "Stop clock set to become a permanent fixture in white-ball internationals from T20 World Cup 2024". International Cricket Council. Retrieved 15 March 2024.
- ^ "All you need to know about 2026 T20 World Cup qualification". Cricbuzz. Retrieved 18 May 2024.
- ^ "How does qualification for the 2026 T20 World Cup work?". Wisden. Retrieved 10 June 2024.
- ^ "Canada qualify for Men's T20 World Cup 2026". International Cricket Council. 22 June 2025. Retrieved 29 November 2025.
- ^ "Italy and Netherlands qualify for the Men's T20 World Cup 2026". International Cricket Council. 11 July 2025. Retrieved 29 November 2025.
- ^ "Namibia and Zimbabwe qualify for ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2026". International Cricket Council. 3 October 2025. Retrieved 29 November 2025.
- ^ "UAE claim final T20 World Cup 2026 ticket in Oman". International Cricket Council. 16 October 2025. Retrieved 29 November 2025.
- ^ "2026 Men's T20 World Cup: England to face Italy as schedule revealed". BBC Sport. 25 November 2025. Retrieved 29 November 2025.
- ^ "The 20 teams competing at ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2026". International Cricket Council. 17 October 2025. Retrieved 29 November 2025.
- ^ "ICC shortlists venues for 2026 T20 World Cup in India and Sri Lanka". ESPNcricinfo. 6 November 2025. Retrieved 9 November 2025.
- ^ a b "Narendra Modi Stadium to host T20 World Cup final, R Premadasa Stadium announced as alternative for Pakistan". ESPNcricinfo. 9 September 2025. Retrieved 10 September 2025.
- ^ "Pakistan to face Netherlands on 7 February on opening day of ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2026". Pakistan Cricket Board. 10 January 2014. Retrieved 29 November 2025.
- ^ a b "T20 WC 2026: An explainer on ICC's pre-assigned seedings". Cricbuzz. Retrieved 25 November 2025.
- ^ a b c d e f ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2026 - Points Table at ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 25 November 2025.
- ^ 2026 Men's T20 World Cup, fixtures and results at ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 2025-11-27.
External links
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