The ICC T20 World Cup 2026 will feature 20 teams competing for the title. The tournament is set to begin on February 7 and will end with the final on March 8. Cricket fans around the world are already looking forward to the event as the countdown has officially started. India will enter the tournament as the defending champions. They won the previous edition of the T20 World Cup in 2024 after beating South Africa in the final. The 2026 edition will be hosted jointly by India and Sri Lanka, with matches played across several venues in both countries.
The tournament will follow the same format as the last edition. The 20 teams have been divided into four groups of five teams each. Every team will play four matches during the group stage. The top two teams from each group will advance to the Super 8 round, which will be followed by the semi-finals and the final.Most teams have already announced their squads for the tournament. However, a major change was recently made when the International Cricket Council (ICC) removed Bangladesh from the competition. Bangladesh had requested that their matches be moved out of India, but the ICC rejected the request due to scheduling issues. As a result, Scotland was named as their replacement.
🚨 FULL SCHEDULE OF T20 WC 2026 WARMUP GAMES pic.twitter.com/Fz8CezS51x
— Prakash (@definitelynot05) January 27, 2026
Before the tournament begins, teams will take part in warm-up matches to prepare for playing conditions in India and Sri Lanka. The warm-up matches will start on February 2, with a total of 16 games scheduled.The Indian team will play one warm-up match against South Africa on February 4 at the DY Patil Sports Academy in Navi Mumbai. In addition, India A will play two warm-up matches — against the USA on February 2 and Namibia on February 6.
Warm-up matches in India will be held in Navi Mumbai, Chennai, and Bengaluru, while R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo will host the matches in Sri Lanka. Several strong teams, including Australia, Pakistan, New Zealand, and Afghanistan, will also be involved in the warm-up games.With the tournament just weeks away, teams will use these matches to finalise their combinations and build momentum ahead of the start of the ICC T20 World Cup 2026.
The first warm-up fixture will be played on February 2, while the last warm-up tie will be on February 6 between India A and Namibia in Bengaluru. There will be a total of 15 warm-up matches from February 2 to 6.
Here is the full warm-up fixtures list:
February 2 – Afghanistan vs Scotland – Bengaluru – 3 PM
February 2 – India A vs USA – Navi Mumbai – 5 PM
February 2 – Canada vs Italy – Chennai – 7 PM
February 3 – Sri Lanka A vs Oman – Colombo – 1 PM
February 3 – Netherlands vs Zimbabwe – Colombo – 3 PM
February 3 – Nepal vs UAE – Chennai – 5 PM
February 4 – Namibia vs Scotland – Bengaluru – 1 PM
February 4 – Afghanistan vs West Indies – Bengaluru – 3 PM
February 4 – Ireland vs Pakistan – Colombo – 5 PM
February 4 – India vs South Africa – Navi Mumbai – 7 PM
February 5 – Oman vs Zimbabwe – Colombo – 1 PM
February 5 – Canada vs Nepal – Chennai – 3 PM
February 5 – New Zealand vs USA – Navi Mumbai – 5 PM
February 6 – Italy vs UAE – Chennai – 3 PM
February 6 – India A vs Namibia – Bengaluru – 5 PM
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