2026 Men's T20 World Cup
| Dates | February – March 2026 |
|---|---|
| Administrator(s) | International Cricket Council |
| Cricket format | Twenty20 International |
| Tournament format(s) | Group stage, Super 8s and Knockout stage |
| Host(s) |  India Sri Lanka |
| Participants | 20 |
| Matches | 55 |
| Official website | t20worldcup |
| Part of a series on the |
| 2026 Men's T20 World Cup |
|---|
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 Wikipedia Category Commons Category |
|
Qualification Overview |
| Qualified teams |
| General Information |
The 2026 ICC Men's T20 World Cup will be the tenth edition of the ICC Men's T20 World Cup. It is scheduled to be hosted by the defending champion, India along with Sri Lanka from February to March 2026.[1][2][3]
Background
[edit]The ICC Men's T20 World Cup is a biennial T20I tournament played between men's national teams, organized by International Cricket Council (ICC). The tournament is held every two years and was first played in 2007 in South Africa.[4] The last tournament held in 2024 in the West Indies and the United States was contested by 20 teams.[5][6] India are the defending champions, having defeated South Africa in the final of the previous edition.[7]
Host selection
[edit]In November 2021, the International Cricket Council (ICC) announced that India and Sri Lanka will co-host the 2026 ICC Men's T20 World Cup. This will be the first time for India and Sri Lanka that they will host a T20 World Cup together.[8] Sri Lanka first hosted the T20 World Cup in 2012 and India hosted in 2016.[9] Sri Lanka proposed to host this tournament alone. But due to lack of stadiums in Sri Lanka, International Cricket Council (ICC) decided to co-host with India.[10]
Neutral venue for India vs Pakistan
[edit]On 19 December 2024, following an agreement between BCCI and PCB, the ICC board confirmed in an update issued on India and Pakistan hosted matches at ICC events, that India and Pakistan matches hosted by either country at ICC Events during the 2024-2027 rights cycle will be played at a neutral venue. Thus it was established that any India-Pakistan game at the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 (hosted by India and Sri Lanka) will be played in Sri Lanka.[11] The final of the tournament is set to take place in India but if Pakistan qualifies, the final (including another semi final) is likely to take place in Sri Lanka.
Format
[edit]Tournament's format remained the same as previous edition. The 20 qualifying teams will be divided into four groups of five teams; all the five teams in a group will play with all the others – for a total of ten matches – and the top two teams in each group will advance to the Super 8 stage. The advanced 8 teams will be divided into two groups of four teams each; all the advanced teams in an advanced group will play with all the others in that group – for a total of six matches – and the top two teams in each advanced group will advance to the knockout stage.[12]
Qualification
[edit]India and Sri Lanka directly qualified for the tournament as co-hosts.[13] They will be joined by the top eight teams from the previous edition who get qualified automatically, and since India finished in the top eight in the previous edition, the best three teams (other than the ones already qualified) from the ICC Men's T20I Team Rankings will also qualify for the tournament.[14] The remaining eight teams will be decided by regional qualifiers,[15] two teams each from Africa[16][17][18] and Europe,[19][20][21] three teams from Asia and East Asia-Pacific region combined,[22][23][24] along with one team from the Americas region.
| Method of qualification | Date of qualification | Venues | No. of teams | Teams |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hosts | 16 November 2021 | — | 2 |
India
|
| Sri Lanka
| ||||
| 2024 ICC Men's T20 World Cup (Top teams from previous tournament) |
17 June 2024 |  United States West Indies |
7 |
 Afghanistan
|
 Australia
| ||||
 Bangladesh
| ||||
 England
| ||||
 South Africa
| ||||
| United States
| ||||
| West Indies
| ||||
| ICC Men's T20I Team Rankings (Top teams, not qualified yet) |
— | 3 |
 Ireland
| |
 New Zealand
| ||||
 Pakistan
| ||||
| Africa Qualifier | 2 |
 TBD
| ||
| TBD
| ||||
| Americas Qualifier | 1 |
TBD
| ||
| Asia & East Asia Pacific Qualifier |  Malaysia |
3 |
TBD
| |
| TBD
| ||||
| TBD
| ||||
| Europe Qualifier | 5–11 July 2025 |  Netherlands |
2 |
TBD
|
| TBD
| ||||
| Total | 20 |
Group stage
[edit]Group A
[edit]| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | NR | Pts | NRR | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | TBD
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | Advance to the Super 8 |
| 2 | TBD
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | |
| 3 | TBD
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | |
| 4 | TBD
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | |
| 5 | TBD
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
Group B
[edit]| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | NR | Pts | NRR | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | TBD
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | Advance to the Super 8 |
| 2 | TBD
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | |
| 3 | TBD
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | |
| 4 | TBD
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | |
| 5 | TBD
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
Group C
[edit]| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | NR | Pts | NRR | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | TBD
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | Advance to the Super 8 |
| 2 | TBD
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | |
| 3 | TBD
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | |
| 4 | TBD
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | |
| 5 | TBD
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
Group D
[edit]| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | NR | Pts | NRR | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | TBD
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | Advance to the Super 8 |
| 2 | TBD
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | |
| 3 | TBD
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | |
| 4 | TBD
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | |
| 5 | TBD
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
Super 8
[edit]Group 1
[edit]| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | NR | Pts | NRR | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | TBD
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | Advance to the knockout stage |
| 2 | TBD
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | |
| 3 | TBD
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | |
| 4 | TBD
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
Group 2
[edit]| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | NR | Pts | NRR | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | TBD
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | Advance to the knockout stage |
| 2 | TBD
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | |
| 3 | TBD
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | |
| 4 | TBD
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
Knockout stage
[edit]Bracket
[edit]| Semi-finals | Final | ||||||||
| 2A | |||||||||
| 1B | |||||||||
| SF1W | |||||||||
| SF2W | |||||||||
| 1A | |||||||||
| 2B | |||||||||
Semi-finals
[edit]Semi-final 1
TBD |
TBD
|
v
|
TBD
|
Semi-final 2
TBD |
TBD
|
v
|
TBD
|
Final
[edit]Final
TBD |
TBD
|
v
|
TBD
|
References
[edit]- ^ "T20 World Cup to return to Asia in 2026". Times Now. Retrieved 17 August 2022.
- ^ "USA to stage T20 World Cup: 2024-2031 ICC Men's tournament hosts confirmed". www.icc-cricket.com. Retrieved 15 August 2023.
- ^ "2027 World Test Championship final in England too". Times of India. Retrieved 22 October 2024.
- ^ "India win dramatic Twenty20 final". 24 September 2007. Retrieved 14 September 2024.
- ^ Barot, Dhruv (16 November 2021). "Cricket West Indies and USA Cricket Hail Successful Joint Bid to Host ICC Men's T20 World Cup in 2024". USA Cricket. Retrieved 14 September 2024.
- ^ icc (21 May 2024). "Everything you need to know about the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2024". www.icc-cricket.com. Retrieved 14 September 2024.
- ^ "T20 World Cup: India end long title drought after final for the ages against South Africa". The Indian Express. 29 June 2024. Retrieved 14 September 2024.
- ^ "India to host 2026 T20 World Cup with Sri Lanka, 2031 ODI World Cup with Bangladesh". Deccan Herald. Retrieved 9 January 2024.
- ^ "BCCI confident of hosting 2021 T20 World Cup in India". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 10 July 2024.
- ^ PTI (21 May 2020). "Sri Lanka abandons project to build a new cricket stadium". Sportstar. Retrieved 20 December 2024.
- ^ "Update issued on India and Pakistan hosted matches at ICC events". ICC. 19 December 2024. Retrieved 19 December 2024.
- ^ "New format, new location: How the 2024 T20 World Cup will look". International Cricket Council. 21 November 2022. Archived from the original on 21 November 2022. Retrieved 14 September 2024.
- ^ "Sri Lanka, India to co-host ICC Men's T20 World Cup in 2026". www.adaderana.lk. Retrieved 14 September 2024.
- ^ "Stop clock set to become a permanent fixture in white-ball internationals from T20 World Cup 2024". International Cricket Council. Retrieved 15 March 2024.
- ^ "How does qualification for the 2026 T20 World Cup work?". Wisden. Retrieved 10 June 2024.
- ^ "Tanzania Cricket to host 2026 ICC Men's T20 World Cup Sub-Regional Africa Qualifier A in September 2024". Czarsports. Retrieved 13 July 2023.
- ^ "Kenya Cricket to host 2026 ICC Men's T20 World Cup Sub-Regional Africa Qualifier B in October 2024". Czarsports. Retrieved 13 July 2023.
- ^ "Nigeria Cricket to host 2026 ICC Men's T20 World Cup Sub-Regional Africa Qualifier C in November 2024". Czarsports. Retrieved 13 July 2023.
- ^ "Italy Cricket to host 2026 ICC Men's T20 World Cup Europe Sub-regional Qualifier "A" in June 2024". Czarsportz. 14 December 2023. Retrieved 16 December 2023.
- ^ "Germany Cricket to host 2026 ICC Men's T20 World Cup Europe Sub-regional Qualifier "B" in July 2024". Czarsportz. 14 December 2023. Retrieved 16 December 2023.
- ^ "Guernsey Cricket to host 2026 ICC Men's T20 World Cup Europe Sub-regional Qualifier "C" in August 2024". Czarsportz. 14 December 2023. Retrieved 16 December 2023.
- ^ "Samoa Cricket to host 2026 ICC Men's T20 World Cup EAP Sub-regional Qualifier A in August 2024". Czarsportz. 2 January 2024. Retrieved 7 January 2024.
- ^ "Malaysia Cricket to host 2026 ICC Men's T20 World Cup Asia Qualifier A in August/September 2024". Czarsports. 31 May 2024. Retrieved 10 June 2023.
- ^ "A historic first for South Korea as dates and venues for the 2024 Pathway Events are announced". International Cricket Council. 5 March 2024. Retrieved 5 March 2024.
