2026 Men's T20 World Cup

For the women's tournament to be held in 2026, see 2026 Women's T20 World Cup.

2026 ICC Men's T20 World Cup

Dates	February – March 2026
Administrator(s)	International Cricket Council
Cricket format	Twenty20 International
Tournament format(s)	Group stage, Super 8s and Knockout stage
Host(s)	India Sri Lanka
Participants	20
Matches	55
Official website	t20worldcup.com
← 2024 2028 →

The 2026 ICC Men's T20 World Cup will be the 10th edition of the ICC Men's T20 World Cup. It is scheduled to be hosted by Board of Control for Cricket in India and Sri Lanka Cricket from February to March 2026. India are the defending champions.

Background

The ICC Men's T20 World Cup is a biennial world cup for cricket in Twenty20 International (T20I) format, organized by the International Cricket Council (ICC). The tournament, now being held every two years, was first played in 2007 in South Africa. ^[1] India are the defending champions, having defeated South Africa in the final of the previous edition. ^[2]

Host selection

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. The 20 qualifying teams were divided into four groups of five teams; the five teams in each group played with the other four – for a total of ten matches per group – and the top two teams in each group advanced to the Super 8 stage. The advanced 8 teams were divided into two groups of four teams based on pre-tournament seedings; the advanced teams in each group played with all the others in that group – for a total of six matches per group – and the top two teams in each advanced group advanced to the knockout stage. ^[6]

Qualification

Main article: 2026 Men's T20 World Cup qualification

Sri Lanka and India qualified directly as co-hosts. ^[7] They will be joined by the top eight teams from the 2024 Men's T20 World Cup and the best three other teams from the ICC Men's T20I Team Rankings. ^[8] The remaining eight teams will be decided by regional qualifiers, with two teams qualifying from both Africa and Europe, three teams from the combined Asia–EAP region, and one team from the Americas region. ^[9]

Italy qualified for the men's T20 World Cup for the first time, which will also mark their debut in a major ICC tournament. ^[10]

List of teams qualified for the 2026 Men's T20 World Cup

Method of qualification	Date of qualification	Venues	No. of teams	Teams
Hosts	16 November 2021	—	2	India
				Sri Lanka
2024 Men's T20 World Cup (Top 7 teams from previous tournament, excluding hosts.)	17 June 2024	United States West Indies	7	Afghanistan
				Australia
				Bangladesh
				England
				South Africa
				United States
				West Indies
ICC Men's T20I Team Rankings	30 June 2024	—	3	Ireland
				New Zealand
				Pakistan
Americas Qualifier	15–22 June 2025	Canada	1	Canada
Europe Qualifier	5–11 July 2025	Netherlands	2	Italy
				Netherlands
Africa Qualifier	26 September–4 October 2025	Zimbabwe	2	TBD
				TBD
Asia–EAP Qualifier	8–17 October 2025	Oman	3	TBD
				TBD
				TBD
Total			20

Knockout stage

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 their matches in Sri Lanka. Thus one of the semi-finals is likely to be held in the R. Premadasa Stadium in Colombo. The venue for another semi-final remains undecided. The final of the tournament is set to take place in the renovated Eden Gardens, as reported by various articles. But if Pakistan qualifies for the finals, it is likely to be shifted to Colombo. ^[11]

References

1. Soni, Paresh (24 September 2007). "ICC World Twenty20". BBC . Archived from the original on 9 April 2009. Retrieved 24 September 2007.
2. "T20 World Cup: India end long title drought after final for the ages against South Africa". The Indian Express. 29 June 2024. Retrieved 14 September 2024.
3. "India to host 2026 T20 World Cup with Sri Lanka, 2031 ODI World Cup with Bangladesh". Deccan Herald. Retrieved 9 January 2024.
4. "BCCI confident of hosting 2021 T20 World Cup in India". ESPNcricinfo . Retrieved 10 July 2024.
5. "Update issued on India and Pakistan hosted matches at ICC events". ICC. 19 December 2024. Retrieved 19 December 2024.
6. "New format, new location: How the 2024 T20 World Cup will look". International Cricket Council. 21 November 2022. Retrieved 20 February 2025.
7. "Sri Lanka, India to co-host ICC Men's T20 World Cup in 2026". www.adaderana.lk. Retrieved 14 September 2024.
8. "Stop clock set to become a permanent fixture in white-ball internationals from T20 World Cup 2024". International Cricket Council. Retrieved 15 March 2024.
9. "How does qualification for the 2026 T20 World Cup work?". Wisden. Retrieved 10 June 2024.
10. "This former Australian Test star just led Italy to cricket World Cup for first time". Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 12 July 2025.
11. "Eden Gardens gears up to host T20 World Cup Final 2026". Cricket Addictor. 7 December 2023. Archived from the original on 7 December 2023. Retrieved 7 December 2023.

External links

• Official website