Your guide to the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2026: Key details

The 10th edition of the ICC Men's T20 World Cup promises to be one of the best tournaments world cricket has ever seen.

Hosted by India and Sri Lanka, there have never been more top class cricketers ready to make their mark and there have never been more countries that consider themselves genuine title contenders.

India and Sri Lanka will host the tournament, with games set to be played across eight venues - five stadiums in five different Indian cities and three Sri Lankan grounds including two different Colombo venues.

India's tournament locations are grounds in Ahmedabad (Narendra Modi Stadium), Kolkata (Eden Gardens), Delhi (Arun Jaitley Stadium), Mumbai (Wankhede Stadium) and Chennai (M.A. Chidambaram Stadium).

The R. Premadasa Stadium and SSC Cricket Ground are the two Colombo venues that will host games, along with the Pallekele Cricket Stadium in Kandy.

Pakistan will meet the Netherlands in the tournament opener in Colombo on 7 February.

The venue for the Final is yet to be confirmed, either in Ahmedabad or Colombo, scheduled for the 8 March.

Key Dates

February 7: Tournament opener

February 22: Super 8 stage begins

March 4: Semi-final 1

March 5: Semi-final 2

March 8: The Final

Format

Just like the last edition of the tournament, which was hosted by the USA and West Indies two years ago, 20 teams will feature once again.

The teams will be split into four even groups, with each side playing a minimum of four matches against their other group members.

The top two teams from each group will progress to the Super 8 stage, which will consist of two groups of four teams. Once again, each collection of teams will play their group members, with the top two from each group progressing.

From there, the final four will play in Knockout stage, where the winners of each semi-final will qualify for the Final.

There will be 55 matches in total across the T20 World Cup.

T20 World Cup Groups

Group A: India, Pakistan, United States, Netherlands, Namibia

Group B: Australia, Sri Lanka, Ireland, Zimbabwe, Oman

Group C: England, West Indies, Scotland, Nepal, Italy

Group D: New Zealand, South Africa, Afghanistan, Canada, United Arab Emirates

Squads

All competing teams have now named their final list of 15 players.

Any alterations to squads at this stage will require approval from the ICC's Event Technical Committee.

Broadcast Details

Wherever you are based around the world, you will be able to tune into the Men's T20 World Cup 2026. Fans around the world able to follow the action live across television, digital, audio and emerging formats.

Commentators

An expert team of commentators set to grace our screens during the T20 World Cup as ICC.TV delivers a world-class viewing experience for cricket fans around the globe.

Highly-renowned commentators Ravi Shastri, Nasser Hussain, Ian Smith and Ian Bishop headline the list, while former T20 World Cup winners Aaron Finch, Dinesh Karthik, Kumar Sangakkara, Samuel Badree, Robin Uthappa, Carlos Brathwaite also feature.

Current player and reigning ICC World Test Championship-winning captain Temba Bavuma will be heard on commentary, while 2014 T20 World Cup winner Angelo Mathews is also included in an impressive list of commentators that will be utilised across the 55 matches at the tournament.

Who are the Defending Champions?

India

India beat South Africa in the 2024 Final, claiming their second Men's T20 World Cup crown, winning the decider by seven runs.

Virat Kohli was Player of the Match in the final, scoring 76 off 59 balls, while Jasprit Bumrah was awarded Player of the Tournament off the back of his 15 wickets.

Specific conditions for T20 World Cup

Any match that finishes in a tie will see a Super Over be played and if the Super Over is a tie, subsequent Super Overs will be played until there is a winner.

There is also additional time available to ensure the completion of all Knockout fixtures (the semi-finals and final).

South Africa Men’s Squad - ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026

Aiden Markram (captain, Momentum Multiply Titans), Corbin Bosch (Momentum Multiply Titans), Dewald Brevis (Momentum Multiply Titans), Quinton de Kock (DP World Lions), Marco Jansen (Momentum Multiply Titans), George Linde (World Sports Betting Western Province), Keshav Maharaj (Hollywoodbets Dolphins), Kwena Maphaka  (DP World Lions), David Miller (Hollywoodbets Dolphins), Lungi Ngidi (Momentum Multiply Titans), Anrich Nortje (Hollywoodbets Dolphins), Kagiso Rabada (DP World Lions), Ryan Rickelton (DP World Lions), Jason Smith (Hollywoodbets Dolphins) and Tristan Stubbs (Dafabet Warriors).

ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026

Group D Fixtures

Monday, 9 February at 3.30pm SAST

South Africa v Canada - Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad

Wednesday, 11 February at 7.30am SAST

South Africa v Afghanistan - Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad

Friday, 14 February at 3.30pm SAST

New Zealand v South Africa - Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad

Tuesday, 18 February at 7.30am SAST

South Africa v United Arab Emirates - Arun Jaitley Stadium, Delhi