The ICC has chosen possible locations for the 2026 T20 World Cup in India and Sri Lanka

The ICC has chosen possible locations for the 2026 T20 World Cup in India and Sri Lanka

T20 World Cup 2026: The ICC has confirmed the venues for the 2026 Men’s T20 World Cup, which India and Sri Lanka will co-host.

In India, the matches will be played in Ahmedabad, Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai, and Mumbai. In Sri Lanka, Colombo and Kandy have been shortlisted as the likely venues.

The tournament will begin on February 7 and conclude with the final on March 8 in Ahmedabad. The full schedule is expected to be released next week, with just three months to go before the event kicks off. Many participating teams are currently waiting for details on groupings and fixtures. Ticketing information is yet to be announced.

As per an agreement between the BCCI and PCB, Pakistan will play all their matches in Sri Lanka. If they reach the final, that match will also be held in Sri Lanka to maintain the neutral venue arrangement.

The format of the tournament remains the same as the previous edition. Twenty teams will be divided into four groups of five. Each team will play the others in their group once. The top two teams from each group will move to the Super Eight stage, which will feature two groups of four. The top two from each Super Eight group will then qualify for the semi-finals, followed by the final.

India and Sri Lanka qualify automatically as hosts. They are joined by the top seven teams from the 2024 T20 World Cup Afghanistan, Australia, Bangladesh, England, South Africa, USA, and West Indies. New Zealand, Pakistan, and Ireland qualified based on their T20I rankings.

From the regional qualifiers, Canada earned the Americas spot. Italy, making their T20 World Cup debut, and the Netherlands qualified from Europe. Namibia and Zimbabwe came through the Africa qualifiers, while Nepal, Oman, and the UAE advanced from the Asia-East Asia Pacific region.

India will enter the tournament as defending champions, having defeated South Africa in the 2024 final held in Barbados.