T20 World Cup 2026: Full schedule, groups, venues, format after Bangladesh exit
The tournament begins on February 7 with India facing the USA, while Scotland joins Group C following Bangladesh's refusal to play matches on Indian soil
The 10th edition of the T20 cricket World Cup witnessed much drama in a month ahead of its inauguration with Bangladesh refusing to play their games on the Indian soil, thanks to the recent strains in the two countries’ bilateral ties and the Board of Control for Cricket’s (BCCI) alleged decision to exclude Bangladeshi left-arm seamer Mustafizur Rahman’s from the 2026 edition of the Indian Premier League.
Bangladesh’s repeated plea to the International Cricket Council (ICC) to either shift their matches to Sri Lanka, the tournament’s other host, or remove them from Group C which will have all its fixtures played in India, did not succeed and the governing body decided to replace the side with Scotland.
Also read: T20 World Cup: BCB accepts ICC decision to replace Bangladesh with Scotland
The change would now mean that Scotland will be placed in Group C, alongside England, West Indies, Nepal and debutantes Italy. Everything else, including the schedules of the games, their timings and the venues remain unchanged.
The tournament will kick off on February 7 with three matches, two of which are in Group A. Co-hosts and defending champions India taking on the United States in Mumbai and Pakistan taking on the Netherlands in Colombo, Sri Lanka (Pakistan will play all their matches in Sri Lanka, including the high-voltage one against India on February 15).
Also read: T20 World Cup row: 'Sad day for cricket, loss for Bangladesh players' | Interview
Scotland, in fact, will also play on the inaugural day as they take on former champions West Indies in Kolkata. There will be 55 matches in total and the final will be played at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, on March 8.
T20 World Cup 2026 groups
The tournament will have four groups with five teams each. Here are they (not as per T20 rankings):
Group A: India, Pakistan, United States, Netherlands, Namibia
Group B: Sri Lanka, Australia, Ireland, Zimbabwe, Oman
Group C: England, West Indies, Scotland, Nepal, Italy
Group D: South Africa, New Zealand, Canada, Afghanistan, UAE
The tournament’s format
Top two from each group will progress to the Super Eights, where teams will be placed according to pre-determined seedings. The top two from Super Eights will play in the semi-finals.
Seedings for Super Eights (any other team that qualifies from a group instead of a pre-seeded team will take its place in the Super Eights)
X1: India
X2: Australia
X3: West Indies
X4: South Africa
Y1: England
Y2: New Zealand
Y3: Pakistan
Y4: Sri Lanka
About the venues and conditions
The tournament will span eight venues across India and Sri Lanka.
All Group B matches, featuring co-hosts Sri Lanka, will take place exclusively across venues in the island-nation. All of Pakistan’s matches, as said earlier, will also be played in Sri Lanka.
If Pakistan qualify for the semi-finals, Colombo’s R Premadasa Stadium will replace Kolkata as the host of the first semi-final on March 4. Should Pakistan reach the final, that venue will also shift from Ahmedabad to Colombo.
Also read: Mustafizur Rahman-KKR row: Bangladesh made a Hindu captain, says JDU’s Tyagi
If India and Pakistan meet in the semi-finals, the match will be staged in Colombo, while Mumbai will host the second semi-final (Mumbai 5) involving India and any team other than Pakistan.
T20 World Cup 2026 venues
MA Chidambaram Stadium (Chennai)
Arun Jaitley Stadium (New Delhi)
Wankhede Stadium (Mumbai)
Eden Gardens (Kolkata)
Narendra Modi Stadium (Ahmedabad)
R Premadasa Stadium (Colombo)
Sinhalese Sports Club Cricket Ground (Colombo)
Pallekele International Cricket Stadium (Kandy)
Full schedule of T20 World Cup 2026 (All times IST)
February 7: Pakistan vs Netherlands in Colombo at 11 AM
February 7: West Indies vs Scotland in Kolkata at 3 PM
February 7: India vs USA in Mumbai at 7 PM
February 8: New Zealand vs Afghanistan in Chennai at 3 PM
February 8: England vs Nepal in Mumbai at 7 PM
February 8: Sri Lanka vs Ireland in Colombo at 7 PM
February 9: Scotland vs Italy in Kolkata at 11 AM
February 9: Zimbabwe vs Oman in Colombo at 3 PM
February 9: South Africa vs Canada in Ahmedabad at 7 PM
February 10: Netherlands vs Namibia in Ahmedabad at 11 AM
February 10: New Zealand vs UAE in Chennai at 3 PM
February 10: Pakistan vs UAE in Colombo at 7 PM
February 11: South Africa vs Afghanistan in Ahmedabad at 3 PM
February 11: Australia vs Ireland in Colombo at 7 PM
February 11: England vs West Indies in Mumbai at 7 PM
February 12: Sri Lanka vs Oman in Kandy at 3 PM
February 12: Nepal vs Italy in Mumbai at 7 PM
February 12: India vs Namibia in Delhi at 7 PM
February 13: Australia vs Zimbabwe in Colombo at 3 PM
February 13: Canada vs Namibia in Colombo at 7 PM
February 13: USA vs Netherlands in Chennai at 7 PM
February 14: Ireland vs Oman in Colombo at 11 AM
February 14: England vs Scotland in Kolkata at 3 PM
February 14: New Zealand vs South Africa in Ahmedabad at 7 PM
February 15: West Indies vs Nepal in Mumbai at 11 AM
February 15: USA vs Namibia in Chennai at 3 PM
February 15: India vs Pakistan in Colombo at 7 PM
February 16: Afghanistan vs UAE in Delhi at 11 AM
February 16: England vs Italy in Kolkata at 3 PM
February 16: Australia vs Sri Lanka in Kandy at 7 PM
February 17: New Zealand vs Canada in Chennai at 3 PM
February 17: Ireland vs Zimbabwe in Kandy at 7 PM
February 18: Scotland vs Nepal in Mumbai at 11 AM
February 18: South Africa vs UAE in Delhi at 3 PM
February 18: Pakistan vs Namibia in Colombo at 3 PM
February 18: India vs Netherlands in Ahmedabad at 7 PM
February 19: Italy vs West Indies in Kolkata at 3 PM
February 19: Sri Lanka vs Zimbabwe in Colombo at 7 PM
February 20: Afghanistan vs Canada in Chennai at 3 PM
February 20: Australia vs Oman in Kandy at 7 PM
Super Eight
February 22: Y1 vs Y4 in Kandy at 3 PM
February 23: X2 vs X3 in Ahmedabad at 7 PM
February 24: Y2 vs Y3 in Mumbai at 7 PM
February 25: X1 vs X4 in Colombo at 7 PM
February 26: Y3 vs Y4 in Ahmedabad at 3 PM
February 27: X2 vs X4 in Chennai at 7 PM
February 28: Y1 vs Y2 in Colombo at 3 PM
March 1: X1 vs X3 in Kolkata at 7 PM
Semi-finals
March 4: Semi-final 1 in Kolkata/Colombo
March 5: Semi-final 2 in Mumbai
Final
March 8: Final in Ahmedabad/Colombo