The schedule for the 2026 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup has been released. The 10th edition takes place in India and Sri Lanka from 7 February to 8 March, with England opening their campaign against Nepal in Mumbai on Sunday 8 February.
England, winners in 2010 and 2022 and semi-finalists in 2024, are drawn in Group C alongside debutants Italy, two-time champions West Indies and Bangladesh. England’s group matches: Nepal (Mumbai, 8 Feb), West Indies (Mumbai, 11 Feb), Bangladesh (Kolkata, 14 Feb) and Italy (Kolkata, 16 Feb). This tournament will be Harry Brook’s first global event leading England as captain.
Groups
Group A: India, Pakistan, Namibia, Netherlands, USA
Group B: Australia, Ireland, Oman, Sri Lanka, Zimbabwe
Group C: Bangladesh, England, Italy, Nepal, West Indies
Group D: Afghanistan, Canada, New Zealand, South Africa, UAE
Defending champions India are paired with Pakistan in Group A; that high-profile fixture is set for Colombo on 15 February. India and Pakistan currently meet only in global tournaments and neutral-venue Asia Cups. Pakistan begin the event against the Netherlands in Colombo on Saturday 7 February (05:30 UK).
Match timing and venues
During the group stage there will be three matches per day at UK times of 05:30, 09:30 and 13:30 until the group phase ends on 20 February. The Super 8s follow immediately after. The semi-finals are scheduled for 4 and 5 March, and the final for 8 March. The location of Semi-final 1 and the final is conditional on Pakistan reaching the knockouts: Semi-final 1 will be played in Colombo if Pakistan qualify for the knockouts, otherwise in Kolkata; the final will be at Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad unless Pakistan feature, in which case it will be staged in Colombo.
Venues
India: Ahmedabad, New Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai, Mumbai
Sri Lanka: Colombo (R. Premadasa Stadium), Colombo (Sinhalese Sports Club), Kandy
Full group-stage fixtures (all times UK/Ireland)
Saturday 7 Feb
– Pakistan v Netherlands (Colombo, 05:30) — Group A
– West Indies v Bangladesh (Kolkata, 09:30) — Group C
– India v USA (Mumbai, 13:30) — Group A
Sunday 8 Feb
– New Zealand v Afghanistan (Chennai, 05:30) — Group D
– England v Nepal (Mumbai, 09:30) — Group C
– Sri Lanka v Ireland (Colombo, 13:30) — Group B
Monday 9 Feb
– Bangladesh v Italy (Kolkata, 05:30) — Group C
– Zimbabwe v Oman (Colombo, 09:30) — Group B
– South Africa v Canada (Ahmedabad, 13:30) — Group D
Tuesday 10 Feb
– Netherlands v Namibia (New Delhi, 05:30) — Group A
– New Zealand v UAE (Chennai, 09:30) — Group D
– Pakistan v USA (Colombo, 13:30) — Group A
Wednesday 11 Feb
– South Africa v Afghanistan (Ahmedabad, 05:30) — Group D
– Australia v Ireland (Colombo, 09:30) — Group B
– England v West Indies (Mumbai, 13:30) — Group C
Thursday 12 Feb
– Sri Lanka v Oman (Kandy, 05:30) — Group B
– Nepal v Italy (Mumbai, 09:30) — Group C
– India v Namibia (New Delhi, 13:30) — Group A
Friday 13 Feb
– Australia v Zimbabwe (Colombo, 05:30) — Group B
– Canada v UAE (New Delhi, 09:30) — Group D
– USA v Netherlands (Chennai, 13:30) — Group A
Saturday 14 Feb
– Ireland v Oman (Colombo, 05:30) — Group B
– England v Bangladesh (Kolkata, 09:30) — Group C
– New Zealand v South Africa (Ahmedabad, 13:30) — Group D
Sunday 15 Feb
– West Indies v Nepal (Mumbai, 05:30) — Group C
– USA v Namibia (Chennai, 09:30) — Group A
– India v Pakistan (Colombo, 13:30) — Group A
Monday 16 Feb
– Afghanistan v UAE (New Delhi, 05:30) — Group D
– England v Italy (Kolkata, 09:30) — Group C
– Australia v Sri Lanka (Kandy, 13:30) — Group B
Tuesday 17 Feb
– New Zealand v Canada (Chennai, 05:30) — Group D
– Ireland v Zimbabwe (Kandy, 09:30) — Group B
– Bangladesh v Nepal (Mumbai, 13:30) — Group C
Wednesday 18 Feb
– South Africa v UAE (New Delhi, 05:30) — Group D
– Pakistan v Namibia (Colombo, 09:30) — Group A
– India v Netherlands (Ahmedabad, 13:30) — Group A
Thursday 19 Feb
– West Indies v Italy (Kolkata, 05:30) — Group C
– Sri Lanka v Zimbabwe (Colombo, 13:30) — Group B
– Afghanistan v Canada (Chennai, 13:30) — Group D
Friday 20 Feb
– Australia v Oman (Kandy, 13:30) — Group B
Super 8s (selected fixtures)
Saturday 21 Feb — Y2 v Y3 (Colombo, 13:30)
Sunday 22 Feb — Y1 v Y4 (Kandy, 09:30); X1 v X4 (Ahmedabad, 13:30)
Monday 23 Feb — X2 v X3 (Mumbai, 13:30)
Tuesday 24 Feb — Y1 v Y3 (Kandy, 13:30)
Wednesday 25 Feb — Y2 v Y4 (Colombo, 13:30)
Thursday 26 Feb — X3 v X4 (Ahmedabad, 09:30); X1 v X2 (Chennai, 13:30)
Friday 27 Feb — Y1 v Y2 (Colombo, 13:30)
Saturday 28 Feb — Y3 v Y4 (Kandy, 13:30)
Sunday 1 Mar — X2 v X4 (New Delhi, 09:30); X1 v X3 (Kolkata, 13:30)
Knockout rounds
Wednesday 4 Mar — Semi-final 1 (Kolkata or Colombo, 13:30)
Thursday 5 Mar — Semi-final 2 (Mumbai, 13:30)
Sunday 8 Mar — Final (Ahmedabad or Colombo, 13:30)
How teams qualified
Hosts: India, Sri Lanka
Automatic/provisional spots via 2024 performance and rankings: England, Afghanistan, Australia, Bangladesh, South Africa, USA, West Indies, Ireland, New Zealand, Pakistan
Regional qualifiers: Italy (Europe), Netherlands (Europe), Canada (Americas), Namibia (Africa), Zimbabwe (Africa), Nepal (Asia-Pacific), Oman (Asia-Pacific), UAE (Asia-Pacific)
Debutant: Italy are the only new team in this edition.
Past winners (T20 World Cup)
2007 India; 2009 Pakistan; 2010 England; 2012 West Indies; 2014 Sri Lanka; 2016 West Indies; 2021 Australia; 2022 England; 2024 India.
Tournament format
Each team plays the other teams in its group once; the top two from each group advance to the Super 8s. The Super 8s form two groups of four, with the top two from each progressing to the semi-finals and then the final.
Key points to watch
– England’s opening match vs Nepal on 8 February marks the start of their bid for a third T20 title under new captain Harry Brook.
– India v Pakistan in Colombo on 15 February is a major fixture and could influence knockout venue decisions.
– Three daily group matches and compact scheduling make squad depth and recovery important throughout the tournament.