Schedule for T20 World Cup 2026 to be announced next week
LAHORE: The highly anticipated match schedule for the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 will be announced on November 25.
According to media reports, the schedule will be announced during a ceremony in Mumbai, which, according to Indian media, will be attended by the International Cricket Council (ICC) Chairman Jay Shah, while several former and current cricketers will also be invited to attend the event. For the unversed, the 10th edition of the men’s T20 World Cup is likely to be played between February 7 and March 8, with India and Sri Lanka confirmed as co-hosts for the tournament featuring 20 teams. The final is likely to be held in Ahmedabad or Colombo, depending on whether Pakistan qualifies, given that India and Pakistan are currently not playing bilateral cricket due to political tensions.
The tournament format will mirror that of the 2024 Men’s T20 World Cup in the West Indies and USA. Teams will be divided into four groups of five, with the top two from each group advancing to the Super Eight stage, which will then be split into two groups of four. The top two sides from each Super Eight group will move on to the semi-finals. India enter the competition as defending champions, having defeated South Africa in the final in Barbados earlier this year. The 2024 edition comprised 55 matches in total. Notably, all 20 teams set to participate in the mega event have already been confirmed, with the United Arab Emirates’ (UAE) qualification last month. The UAE joined Nepal and Oman as the final three teams to qualify for next year’s T20 World Cup 2026 from the Asia-EAP region. Alongside hosts India and Sri Lanka, the other teams with automatic qualification include the top seven sides from the 2024 T20 World Cup: Afghanistan, Australia, Bangladesh, England, South Africa, the United States, and West Indies. The three teams that qualified based on their T20I rankings are Pakistan, New Zealand, and Ireland. Regional qualifiers also secured their places: Canada claimed the lone Americas spot, while Italy (making their T20 World Cup debut) and the Netherlands qualified from Europe. Namibia and Zimbabwe grabbed the two spots from the Africa qualifier. Monitoring Desk
