Venues for 2026 T20 World Cup shortlisted by ICC, with 3 venues in Sri Lanka, and 5 venues in India for the 20-team tournament.
ICC shortlists venues for 2026 T20 World Cup in India and Sri Lanka.
The Indian cities of Ahmedabad, Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai, and Mumbai have been selected by the ICC to host the men’s T20 World Cup in 2026. Sri Lanka will also co-host. It is believed that the ICC has selected two locations in Kandy and Colombo as the three Sri Lankan venues.
The T20 World Cup is scheduled to start on February 7 and end on March 8 with the final in Ahmedabad. With only roughly three months till the event begins, the ICC is expected to announce the schedule next week, according to PTI.
It is acknowledged that most of the competing nations have been awaiting word from the ICC regarding the schedule and team grouping. Additionally, the ICC has not yet disclosed tournament ticketing details.
In accordance with the agreement established between the BCCI and PCB allowing India and Pakistan to play at neutral grounds during multi-nation championships hosted by the other nation, Pakistan will play all of their games in Sri Lanka. The match will take place in Sri Lanka if Pakistan advances to the final.
The 2026 T20 World Cup will follow the same structure as the previous one, with 20 teams divided into four groups of five, each of which will play the other teams once. Each group’s top two teams advance to the Super-eight round, where they will be divided into two groups of four. Each Super-eight group’s top two teams advance to the semifinals.
The top seven teams from the 2024 T20 World Cup—Afghanistan, Australia, Bangladesh, England, South Africa, the United States of America, and the West Indies—aside from the hosts, India and Sri Lanka, were automatically qualified for the competition. Based on their T20I standings, New Zealand, Pakistan, and Ireland were the three teams who advanced.
Canada emerged victorious in the Americas Qualifier. The Netherlands, Italy, and first-time T20 World Cup competitors advanced from the European five-team competition. Before Nepal, Oman, and the United Arab Emirates advanced from the Asia-EAP round, Namibia and Zimbabwe secured the two slots from the eight-team Africa qualifier.
After defeating South Africa in the 2024 T20 World Cup final in Barbados, India is the reigning champion.