As reported previously by this newspaper, five cities in India will host the event with Delhi, Ahmedabad, Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata being the chosen ones. (AP)The ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 will take place in 8 venues across seven cities in India and Sri Lanka, the International Cricket Council announced on Tuesday. In all 20 teams will participate in the event with Italy making their first appearance in the T20 World Cup with teams divided into four groups of five teams.
As reported previously by this newspaper, five cities in India will host the event with Delhi, Ahmedabad, Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata being the chosen ones. Across the Palk Strait in Sri Lanka, Colombo and Kandy will be the host cities. R Premadasa and Sinhalese Sports Club in Colombo will host the matches alongside the one in Pallekele in Sri Lanka.
Defending champions India are in Group A alongside Pakistan, Namibia, The Netherlands and the USA. India will play the opener against the USA on February 7 at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. They will move to the national capital to face Namibia on February 12 before heading to Colombo to take on Pakistan on February 15. Suryakumar Yadav & Co will then head to Ahmedabad to play their last league game against The Netherlands on February 18.
Group B comprises Australia, Sri Lanka, Ireland, Zimbabwe and Oman. England, West Indies, Bangladesh, Nepal and Italy make Group C. The Group D consists of New Zealand, South Africa, Afghanistan, Canada and the United Arab Emirates.
Rohit Sharma who led India to T20 World Cup title in 2024 in the USA and Caribbean said no fixture can be taken lightly. “Look, our group has Pakistan, and competitive teams in the Netherlands, Namibia and US. You can’t go into a tournament thinking it is a walk through. Not anymore. All these teams play competitive cricket round the year, you can’t take the pedal off the foot. You have to be on the job from first ball. There is no such thing called one team upsetting the other. They all know their strengths and weaknesses. I’m quite amazed to see Italy which shows the sport is growing globally.
“Good to see 20 teams and it is a great achievement. Hope to see many more teams in the future from Europe, Africa and from South East Asia like Japan, where they play competitive cricket. We have already seen the sport has seen a giant leap in the last three years and it is only going to get bigger. Not going to get into the details of the group. Surya will vouch for this. We don’t want to take any team lightly. Not worry about what is happening elsewhere,” Rohit who was announced the brand ambassador for the tournament said.
8 venues: Five from India: Delhi, Ahmedabad and Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata. SL: Colombo (RPS and SSC) and Kandy.
Group A: India, Pakistan, USA, Netherlands, Namibia.
Group B: Australia, Sri Lanka, Ireland, Zimbabwe, Oman.
Group C: England, West Indies, Bangladesh, Nepal, Italy.
Group D: New Zealand, South Africa, Afghanistan, Canada, UAE.
Stay updated with the latest sports news across Cricket, Football, Chess, and more. Catch all the action with real-time live cricket score updates and in-depth coverage of ongoing matches.
3 min read
