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Published : 07 Nov 2025, 12:14 PM
The International Cricket Council (ICC) has confirmed five venues in India for the 2026 Men’s T20 World Cup, which will be jointly hosted by Sri Lanka.
The venues are located in Ahmedabad, Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai, and Mumbai.
According to espncricinfo, the ICC has shortlisted two venues in Colombo and Kandy to host matches in Sri Lanka.
The month-long tournament is scheduled to begin on Feb 7 and conclude with the final in Ahmedabad on Mar 8.
Citing sources, PTI reported that the ICC is expected to publish the tournament schedule next week, with only about three months remaining before the tournament begins.
Most participating teams are reportedly waiting for the ICC to finalise the grouping and scheduling details. Ticketing information is also yet to be released.
Under an understanding reached between the BCCI and PCB, Pakistan will play all their matches in Sri Lanka, maintaining the agreement for both India and Pakistan to compete at neutral venues in multi-nation events hosted by either side. If Pakistan qualify for the final, it will be held in Sri Lanka.
The 2026 edition will follow the same format as the previous tournament. Twenty teams will be divided into four groups of five, with each team playing the others in their group once. The top two from each group will move on to the Super Eight stage, split into two groups of four. The best two sides from each Super Eight group will progress to the semi-finals, with the winners meeting in the final.
Apart from hosts India and Sri Lanka, the teams that have earned automatic qualification include Afghanistan, Australia, Bangladesh, England, South Africa, the United States, and the West Indies, the top seven finishers from the 2024 T20 World Cup.
Based on T20I rankings, New Zealand, Pakistan, and Ireland have also qualified.
From the regional qualifiers, Canada booked the sole spot from the Americas region.
Italy, who will make their first-ever appearance in a T20 World Cup, and the Netherlands qualified from Europe.
Namibia and Zimbabwe advanced from the African qualifier, while Nepal, Oman, and the UAE secured their berths through the combined Asia–EAP tournament.
India are the defending champions, having defeated South Africa in the 2024 T20 World Cup final in Barbados.
