International Cricket Council Announces 2026 Mens T20 Cricket World Cup Details

The 10th edition of the ICC Men’s T20 Cricket World Cup will take place from Saturday to March 8, with India and Sri Lanka serving as co-hosts. The 30-day tournament will feature 55 matches across eight venues, including five in India and three in Sri Lanka.

The tournament will begin on February 4 at the Sinhalese Sports Club Cricket Ground in Colombo, Sri Lanka, where Pakistan will face the Netherlands. The final match is scheduled to be held at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, India, on March 8.

Twenty teams have been selected for the tournament, with Bangladesh not participating due to government security concerns about playing in India. Scotland has replaced Bangladesh as part of the tournament lineup.

The tournament format involves a fast-paced T20 format, where each team faces 20 overs per side and matches typically last around three to four hours. The format rewards power hitting and aggression, making momentum changeable in a short period.

Other hosting cities include New Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, Kandy, and Ahmedabad. The teams will be divided into four groups, with the top two teams from each group advancing to the Super 8 stage. The tournament’s prize money has not been officially announced for the 2026 edition, but in 2024, the ICC allocated $11.25m in prize money, with the winners receiving $2.45m.

The tournament will take place amidst rising tensions between South Asian neighbors, with Pakistan requesting to play all its matches in Sri Lanka rather than India due to security concerns.

Source: Al Jazeera