India have been grouped with Pakistan; Sri Lanka with Australia and Ireland; England with West Indies and Bangladesh; and New Zealand with Afghanistan and South Africa at the 2026 Men’s T20 World Cup in February and March.
The tournament, co-hosted by India and Sri Lanka, begins on February 7 and ends on March 8, with the marquee India-Pakistan fixture scheduled for February 15 at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo. The ICC revealed the groups and fixtures at an event in Mumbai on Tuesday.
The complete first-round groups are as follows:
Group A: India, Pakistan, USA, Netherlands, Namibia
Group B: Sri Lanka, Australia, Ireland, Zimbabwe, Oman
Group C: England, West Indies, Bangladesh, Nepal, Italy
Group D: New Zealand, South Africa, Afghanistan, Canada, UAE
Group B: Sri Lanka, Australia, Ireland, Zimbabwe, Oman
Group C: England, West Indies, Bangladesh, Nepal, Italy
Group D: New Zealand, South Africa, Afghanistan, Canada, UAE
The final of the tournament will be played in Ahmedabad or Colombo on March 8 – if Pakistan qualify it will be in the latter. Similarly the two semi-finals are in Kolkata – or Colombo if Pakistan qualify – on March 4, and Mumbai on March 5.
The other venues for the event are Delhi and Chennai in India, and Kandy in Sri Lanka. Both the R Premadasa Stadium and the Sinhalese Sports Club in Colombo will host games, and all the group matches involving Sri Lanka or Pakistan will be played in Sri Lanka. The other teams in Group B – Australia, Ireland, Oman, Zimbabwe – will also play all their group matches in Sri Lanka. India and Netherlands are the only teams with group matches at four different venues, including one in Colombo. The games start at 11am (0530 GMT), 3pm (0930 GMT) and 7pm IST (1330 GMT).
The format for the tournament is the same as the previous edition in 2024 in the USA and the West Indies, where the 20 teams were divided into five groups of four. The group stage runs from February 7 to February 20. The top two teams from each of the groups progress to a Super Eight phase from February 21 to March 1 where they will be further divided into two groups of four each.
The Super Eight groups are as follows assuming these teams qualify from the first round; if another team qualifies, they will take the place of the team from their group that failed to make it:
Super Eight Group 1: X1 (India), X2 (Australia), X3 (West Indies), X4 (South Africa)
Super Eight Group 2: Y1 (England), Y2 (New Zealand), Y3 (Pakistan), Y4 (Sri Lanka)
Super Eight Group 2: Y1 (England), Y2 (New Zealand), Y3 (Pakistan), Y4 (Sri Lanka)
Each team will play the other three in their Super Eight group, with the top two from each group qualifying for the semi-finals.
Unlike at the 2024 World Cup, where teams like India played two matches in three days including a travel day, in the 2026 tournament teams will have a gap of at least two days between matches if they are at different venues. Also, unlike in 2024 when New York hosted six matches in five days and the pitches became an issue, the ICC has decided not to hold multiple matches at a venue within a short span of time. One exception though is the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai, where four matches will be played in six days – on February 7,8, 11 and 12.
ESPNCricinfo
