The next year's ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2026 is likely to be played from February 07 and March 08. The showpiece event will be co-hosted by India and Sri Lanka, comprising 20 teams. The matches are set to be played in at least five venues in India and two venues in the Island Nation. The final will be staged in Ahmedabad or Colombo, depending on whether Pakistan manages to reach the final.
Notably, India and Pakistan are not playing in each other's countries due to strained political tension between the two governments at present. While the ICC has not officially announced the date for the T20 World Cup, ESPNCricinfo has learned that it has apparently identified a window and has conveyed the message to all participating teams.
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Currently, 15 countries have been confirmed for the showpiece event: India, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, Australia, Bangladesh, England, South Africa, USA, West Indies, New Zealand, Pakistan, Ireland, Canada, Netherlands, and Italy, who created history by qualifying for the first time ever in a T20 World Cup.
Of the remaining five teams, two will be from the Africa regional qualifier, and three from the Asia & East Asia Pacific qualifier.
T20 World Cup 2026 set to be played in the same format as T20 WC 2024
Notably, the format for the T20 World Cup 2026 will follow the same template as the T20 WC 2024, where 20 teams were divided into four groups of five each, with the top two qualifying for the Super 8 round, where once again the eight teams were divided into two groups of four. The top two from the Super 8s stage will qualify for the semi-finals.
India are the defending champions, having narrowly beaten South Africa by seven runs in the final in Barbados. A total of 55 matches were played in that edition across the USA and the West Indies.
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