The 2026 ICC Men's T20 World Cup will be the 10th edition of the Men's T20 World Cup. It is scheduled to be hosted by India and Sri Lanka from February to March 2026. India are the defending champions.
In November 2021, as part of the 2024–2031 ICC men's hosts cycle, Sri Lanka and India were announced as co-hosts for the tournament. Initially the plan was for Sri Lanka to host the entire tournament but due to expansion of the tournament and lack of stadiums in Sri Lanka it was decided to co-host with India.[3] Sri Lanka first hosted the Men's T20 World Cup in 2012 and India hosted it in 2016.[4] In December 2024, following an agreement between the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), the ICC confirmed that 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. As a result, any matches involving Pakistan in the 2026 Men's T20 World Cup will be played only in Sri Lanka.[5]
Format
The tournament's format will remain the same as the previous edition, beginning with 20 teams divided into four groups of five each. The teams in each group will play matches against one another in a round-robin; the top two teams in each group will advance to the Super 8, where they be placed into two groups of four teams based on pre-tournament seedings, and play a second round-robin. The top two teams in each group after the Super 8 will advance to the knockout stage.[6]
Marketing
In November 2025, former title-winning captain Rohit Sharma was announced as the Brand Ambassador of the tournament.[7]
The ICC announced the groups and fixtures on 25 November 2025 at a reveal event held in Mumbai, with group stage scheduled to be played from 7 to 20 February. ICC Chairman Jay Shah, along with former title-winning captain Rohit Sharma and cricketers Suryakumar Yadav and Harmanpreet Kaur, announced the schedule.[14] The following table lists teams in order of their initial group-stage seedings.[15]
First match(es) will be played: 7 February 2026. Source: ESPNcricinfo[16] 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
First match(es) will be played: 8 February 2026. Source: ESPNcricinfo[16] 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
First match(es) will be played: 7 February 2026. Source: ESPNcricinfo[16] Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Wins; 3) Net run rate; 4) Results of games between tied teams; 5) Initial group stage seedings
First match(es) will be played: 8 February 2026. Source: ESPNcricinfo[16] Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Wins; 3) Net run rate; 4) Results of games between tied teams; 5) Initial group stage seedings
The top two teams from each group at the end of the group stage will advance in the Super 8 stage. The teams will then be divided into two groups of four teams each. The Super 8 stage is scheduled to be played from 21 February to 1 March, with top two teams from each group advancing to the knockout stage.[17]
Based on the ICC rankings as of 25 July 2025, India (X1), England (Y1), Australia (X2), New Zealand (Y2), West Indies (X3), Pakistan (Y3), South Africa (X4) and Sri Lanka (Y4) have been seeded for the Super 8 stage. If any of these eight teams do not qualify for the Super 8, then the teams that qualify from their respective groups will replace them.[18]
Qualification
Super 8 stage
Group 1
Group 2
Advanced from the group stage (Top 2 teams from each group)
First match(es) will be played: 22 February 2026. Source: ESPNcricinfo[16] 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
First match(es) will be played: 21 February 2026. Source: ESPNcricinfo[16] 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
The knockout stage consists of two semi-finals and a final to decide the winner. As per the agreement between BCCI and the PCB, Pakistan are scheduled to play all their matches in Sri Lanka. The first semi-final will be played in R. Premadasa Stadium, Colombo, while the second semi-final will be played in Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai.
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