2026 Men's T20 World Cup

Last updated

2026 ICC Men's T20 World Cup
2026 ICC Men's T20 World Cup logo.svg
Dates7 February – 8 March 2026
Administrator(s) International Cricket Council
Cricket format Twenty20 International
Tournament format(s) Group stage, Super 8s and Knockout stage
Host(s) Flag of India.svg India
Flag of Sri Lanka.svg Sri Lanka
Participants20
Matches55
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.

Contents

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

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 qualificationDate of qualificationVenuesNo. of teamsTeamsAppearancePrevious best performance
Hosts16 November 2021—
2
Flag of India.svg  India 10thChampions (2007, 2024)
Flag of Sri Lanka.svg  Sri Lanka 10thChampions (2014)
2024 Men's T20 World Cup
(Top 7 teams from previous tournament, excluding hosts.)		17 June 2024Flag of the United States.svg United States
WestIndiesCricketFlagPre1999.svg West Indies
7
Flag of Afghanistan (2013-2021).svg  Afghanistan 8thSemi-finalist (2024)
Flag of Australia (converted).svg  Australia 10thChampions (2021)
Flag of Bangladesh.svg  Bangladesh 10thR2 (2007, 2014, 2016, 2021, 2022, 2024)
Flag of England.svg  England 10th Champions (2010, 2022)
Flag of South Africa.svg  South Africa 10thRunners-up (2024)
Flag of the United States.svg  United States 2ndR2 (2024)
WestIndiesCricketFlagPre1999.svg  West Indies 10thChampions (2012, 2016)
ICC Men's T20I Team Rankings 30 June 2024—
3
Cricket Ireland flag.svg  Ireland 9thR2 (2009, 2022)
Flag of New Zealand.svg  New Zealand 10thRunners-up (2021)
Flag of Pakistan.svg  Pakistan 10thChampions (2009)
Americas Qualifier 15–22 June 2025Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Canada
1
Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Canada 2ndR1 (2024)
Europe Qualifier 5–11 July 2025Flag of the Netherlands.svg Netherlands
2
Flag of Italy.svg  Italy 1stDebut
Flag of the Netherlands.svg  Netherlands 7thR2 (2014, 2022)
Africa Qualifier 26 September–4 October 2025Flag of Zimbabwe.svg Zimbabwe
2
TBD
TBD
Asia–EAP Qualifier 8–17 October 2025Flag of Oman.svg Oman
3
TBD
TBD
TBD
Total20

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 all their matches in Sri Lanka. 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.

As per reports, the final of the tournament was reported to take place in the renovated Eden Gardens with an extended capacity of 90,000. [11] But after the postponement of the renovation plan, the hosting rights of the final were given to the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. Because of the neutral venue agreement between BCCI and PCB, the final will be relocated to R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo if Pakistan qualifies. [12]

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 19 August 2024.
  12. ↑ "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.
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