Mumbai: Defending champions India will take on arch-rivals Pakistan at the R. Premadasa Stadium in Colombo on February 15, 2026 after opening their campaign in the group stage against minnows United States of America at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on February 7, 2026.
India are in Group A with the Netherlands and Namibia as the other teams in the group.
No country has ever defended their title in the T20 World Cup so far and hosts India will be hoping to become the first country to do so. In their remaining group stage fixtures, India will take on Namibia on February 12 in New Delhi and will round off the proceedings against the Netherlands in Ahmedabad on February 18, 2026.
This will be the biggest T20 World Cup in the history of the game so far, as for the first time, 20 teams will be in the fray. The 20 teams will play 55 matches in all across eight venues in India and Sri Lanka from February 7, 2026:, ICC CEO Sanjog Gupta announced in Mumbai on Tuesday as the ICC revealed the full schedule of the tournament in the presence of ICC Chair Jay Shah, two-time T20 WC winner Rohit Sharma, India T20 captain Suryakumar Yadav, newly crowned Women’s ODI World Cup winner Harmanpreet Kaur and cricket administrators from India and Sri Lanka.
Matches will be played at eight venues — the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, the Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi, the Eden Gardens in Kolkata, Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai, and MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai. In Sri Lanka, matches will be played at the R. Premadasa Stadium, the Sinhalese Sports Club in Colombo, and the Pallekele International Stadium in Kandy.
The 20 teams have been divided into four groups of five teams each. Two teams from each group will qualify for the Super 8 stage.
While the focus will be on India and Pakistan in Group A—picked as the Group of Death by the event’s Brand Ambassador Rohit Sharma, the Netherlands and USA, who stunned Pakistan in the previous edition in 2024, can always cause an upset or two.
Group B puts Sri Lanka in a potentially challenging conflict with Australia, Ireland, Zimbabwe, and Oman. Australia’s first match is against Ireland, while Zimbabwe’s return to World Cup action begins with a high-profile match against the co-hosts.
Group C, which includes Bangladesh, first-time qualifiers Italy, and Nepal, is led by two-time champions England and the West Indies. As early as February 11 in Mumbai, England will play the West Indies. Italy’s participation, which is their first in the tournament, gives it a historic feel.
Group D, which is arguably the hardest of the four, includes Afghanistan, South Africa, and New Zealand, the 2024 semifinalists. Canada and UAE complete the line-up, but the spotlight will firmly be on the heavyweight clashes, especially South Africa vs Afghanistan and New Zealand vs South Africa, both set for Ahmedabad.
The top two teams from each group will progress to the Super Eight stage, split into two groups of four. From there, the top two in each Super Eight pool advance to the semifinals before the March 8 final determines the 2026 champion.
Rohit Sharma, who has played in every edition of the T20 World Cup so far, winning titles in the inaugural edition in 2007 and in 2024, said it was heartening to see so many countries playing in the T20 World Cup. It shows that our spot is growing, said the event’s ICC Brand Ambassador Rohit Sharma.
“This will be the first time that I will not be playing the T20 World Cup. It is a different experience for me but I am getting used to watching matches on TV at home,” said Rohit Sharma.
India’s T20 captain Suryakumar Yadav termed the event challenging and said his teammates are excited to be playing at home.
(IANS)
