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.
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.[4] 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.[5] Sri Lanka had previously hosted the competition in 2012 and India in 2016.[6] 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.[7] As a result, any matches involving Pakistan in the 2026 Men's T20 World Cup will be played only in Sri Lanka.[citation needed]
Format
The tournament's format will remain the same as the previous edition.[bettersourceneeded] 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][9]
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 will take the position of the corresponding seeded team that failed to qualify from their group.[10][9]
Schedule
Februaury to March 2026 was allocated to the tournament on the 2023–2027 ICC Men's Future Tours Programme.[11] 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 20 matches and the rest of the matches hosted at five venues in India.[12] The warm-up fixtures are yet to be revealed.
Prize money
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Marketing
Former title-winning captain Rohit Sharma was named as an ambassador of the tournament.[13]
The hosts, the 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.[14] 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.[15]
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Match officials
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Warm-up matches
Warm-up matches
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Group stage
The ICC announced the groups and fixtures on 25 November 2025, with group stage being played from 7 to 20 February.[19] 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.[9] The opening match will be played between Netherlands and Pakistan at SSC Cricket Ground on 7 February.[citation needed] The following table lists teams in order of their initial group-stage seedings.[9]
First match(es) will be played: 7 February 2026. Source: ESPNcricinfo[20] 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[20] 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[20] 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[20] 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 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.[10] No points will be carried over from the group stage to the Super 8 stage.[9] 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.[21]
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[20] 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[20] 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
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