India have been grouped with Pakistan; Sri Lanka with Australia and Ireland; England with West Indies and Bangladesh; and New Zealand with Afghanistan and South Africa for the 2026 Men's T20 World Cup in February and March.
The tournament co-hosted by India and Sri Lanka begins on February 7 and ends on March 8, with the marquee India-Pakistan fixture scheduled for February 15 at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo. The ICC revealed the groups and fixtures at an event in Mumbai on Tuesday.
The complete groups are as follows:
Group A: India, Pakistan, USA, Netherlands, Namibia
Group B: Sri Lanka, Australia, Ireland, Zimbabwe, Oman
Group C: England, West Indies, Bangladesh, Nepal, Italy
Group D: New Zealand, South Africa, Afghanistan, Canada, UAE
The final of the tournament will be played in Ahmedabad or Colombo on March 8, while the two semi-finals are in Kolkata/Colombo on March 4 (semi-final 1) and Mumbai (semi-final 2) on March 5. If Pakistan qualify for semi-final 1 and final, those games will be in Colombo. The other venues for matches are Delhi and Chennai in India, and Kandy in Sri Lanka. Both the R Premadasa Stadium and the Sinhalese Sports Club in Colombo will host games. Matches start at 11 am (0530 GMT), 3pm (0930 GMT) and 7pm IST (1330 GMT).
The format for the tournament is the same as the previous one in 2024 in the USA and the West Indies, where the 20 teams were divided into five groups of four. The group stage runs from February 7 to February 20. The top two teams from each of the four groups progress to a Super Eight phase from February 21 to March 1 where they will be further divided into two groups of four each. The top two teams in each of the two Super Eights groups will then qualify for the semi-finals, which will be followed by the final. India are the defending champions, having beaten South Africa in the final of the 2024 T20 World Cup in Barbados.
India play their first group match of the 2026 T20 World Cup against USA in Mumbai on February 7, the opening day of the tournament. They then take on Namibia in Delhi on February 12, followed by Pakistan, and their final group game is against the Netherlands in Ahmedabad on February 18. There will be three matches a day during the group stage of the tournament.
Pakistan also play on the opening day, taking on Netherlands, after which they play USA (February 10), India (February 15) and Namibia (February 18). All of their matches will be in Colombo.
Sri Lanka play Ireland on February 8, followed by games against Oman (February 12), Australia (February 16), and Zimbabwe (February 19). Australia play Ireland on February 11, followed by matches against Zimbabwe (February 13), Sri Lanka (February 16) and Oman (February 20).
England begin their campaign against Nepal on February 8, and then play West Indies (February 11), Bangladesh (February 14) and Italy (February 16).
South Africa take on Canada on February 9, Afghanistan on February 11, New Zealand on February 14 and UAE on February 18. Before playing South Africa, New Zealand play Afghanistan on February 8 and UAE on February 10, and their final group game is against Canada on February 17.
More to follow ...