T20 World Cup 2026

After 12 days of thrilling action, the T20 World Cup 2026 got its final Super 8 lineup, following Pakistan's hammering of Namibia in Colombo. In the Super 8 stage, the eight qualified teams have been divided into two groups - 1 & 2 - of four teams each. While Pakistan, England, New Zealand and Sri Lanka constitute Group 2; India, Zimbabwe, South Africa and West Indies make Group 1.
The Super 8 stage starts on February 21 and ends on March 1. It is worth noting that all Group 2 matches in the Super 8 stage will be played in Sri Lanka. The matches in Group 1 will be played across five venues in India. It is worth noting that, before the tournament, eight teams were pre-seeded for the Super 8 stage based on their ICC T20I Team Rankings.
Australia, India, South Africa, and the West Indies were pre-seeded in Group 1 while England, New Zealand, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka were seeded in Group 2. With Australia failing to go beyond the group stage, their place in Group 1 was taken by Zimbabwe, who went past the group stage in this competition for the second time in history.

No team has won the T20 World Cup on home soil and India will have their task cut out in this edition. India are the defending champions, having lifted the title in 2024 under the leadership of Rohit Sharma. Until the group stage, three matches will be played on each day, barring one (February 20). The final is scheduled for March 8 at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.

India (2007, 2024), the West Indies (2012, 2016), and England (2010, 2022) are the most successful sides in the T20 World Cup, while Pakistan (2009), Australia (2021), and Sri Lanka (2014) have each managed to put their hands on the title once. India start their campaign against the USA at the iconic Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on February 7. On the same day, Pakistan and the West Indies start their campaigns against the Netherlands and Scotland, respectively, in Colombo and Kolkata.

ICC T20 World Cup 2026 venues

A total of eight venues have been shortlisted to host the T20 World Cup 2026. In India, the MA Chidambaram Stadium (Chennai), Arun Jaitley Stadium (New Delhi), Wankhede Stadium (Mumbai), and Eden Gardens (Kolkata) will host the matches. The Narendra Modi Stadium (Ahmedabad), R Premadasa Stadium (Colombo), Sinhalese Sports Club Cricket Ground (Colombo), and Pallekele International Cricket Stadium (Kandy) have been chosen to host the tournament in Sri Lanka.

The two semifinals have been scheduled for March 4 and 5 at R Premadasa/Eden Gardens and Wankhede Stadium, respectively. If Pakistan qualify for the semifinal, they will play in the first semifinal on March 4 in Colombo. In case of an India vs Pakistan semifinal, the match would take place in Colombo. But if India qualify for the semifinal and Pakistan don’t, then the Men in Blue will play on March 5 at Wankhede Stadium.

ICC T20 World Cup 2026 groups

Group A: India (X1), Namibia, Netherlands, Pakistan (Y3), USA
Group B: Australia (X2), Ireland, Oman, Sri Lanka (Y4), Zimbabwe
Group C: England (Y1), Italy, Nepal, Scotland, West Indies (X3)
Group D: Afghanistan, Canada, New Zealand (Y2), South Africa (X4), United Arab Emirates

ICC T20 World Cup 2026 format

Twenty teams have been divided into four groups of five teams each, with the top two progressing to the Super 8 stage, where the teams will be placed according to predetermined seedings, irrespective of their position in the group stage. The seedings were made based on the ICC T20I Team Rankings up to rank eight. In case an unseeded team qualifies, it will take the place of the corresponding seeded team in the Super 8 stage.

Why did Bangladesh replace Scotland in ICC T20 World Cup 2026?

Bangladesh were replaced by Scotland in the T20 World Cup 2026 at the last moment after the Asian side refused to play their matches on Indian soil due to security concerns. Bangladesh’s refusal to play in India stemmed from the controversy surrounding Mustafizur Rahman’s removal from the Indian Premier League. The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) wrote a letter to the ICC requesting to shift their matches to Sri Lanka, but the apex body rejected the request citing logistical issues. The BCB then proposed to the ICC to move them to another group (Group A) so that they could play all their matches in Sri Lanka, but the proposal met strong resistance from the cricket boards of Ireland and Sri Lanka. This is the first time Bangladesh have missed a T20 World Cup since 2007.

Catch the live action of the T20 World Cup 2026 with the complete T20 World Cup Schedule , and the T20 World Cup Points Table . Also, know who currently holds the T20 World Cup Most Runs and T20 World Cup Most Wickets.