T20 World Cup 2026 schedule out: India, Pakistan in same group again; 8 March final either in Ahmedabad or Colombo

The ICC announced the schedule for the T20 World Cup 2026 on Tuesday. The tournament, hosted by India and Sri Lanka, will kick off on 7 February with reigning champions India taking on the United States in Mumbai.

The Men in Blue have once again been grouped with Pakistan. The arch rivals will face each other in Sri Lanka on 15 February. India's final league stage match will be against the Netherlands on 18 February.

T20 World Cup 2026 full schedule here:

Tournament Groups

Group A: India, Namibia, the United States, Pakistan, and the Netherlands.

Group B: Australia, Sri Lanka, Ireland, Zimbabwe, and Oman.

Group C: England, West Indies, Bangladesh, Nepal, and Italy.

Group D: New Zealand, South Africa, Afghanistan, Canada, and UAE.

Venues

The event will be held across eight venues: five in India and three in Sri Lanka. The host cities are Delhi, Kolkata, Ahmedabad, Chennai, Mumbai, Colombo, and Kandy.

Pakistan will play all of their matches in Colombo.

The second semi-final will be played in Mumbai. The venue for the first semi-final, either Kolkata or Colombo, depends on whether Pakistan qualifies. Similarly, if Pakistan qualifies for the final (scheduled for 8 March), the match will be shifted to Colombo. If they do not make the final, the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad will host the match.

Rohit Sharma is the brand ambassador

ICC chairman Jay Shah announced that former T20 World Cup-winning India captain Rohit Sharma will be the ambassador for the 2026 tournament.

"It’s my honour to announce that @ImRo45 is the tournament ambassador for the upcoming @T20WorldCup in India & Sri Lanka," Shah posted on X.

“There can be no better representative for the event than the winning captain of the 2024 T20 World Cup, and a player who has been in all nine editions so far,” he added.