The International Cricket Council (ICC) on Tuesday (November 25) announced the groupings and complete fixtures for the Men’s T20 World Cup 2026, slated to be held in India and Sri Lanka.
India, who will enter the competition as defending champions, have been placed in a group alongside arch-rivals Pakistan, the USA, Namibia, and the Netherlands.
Reflecting on his team’s T20 World Cup group, skipper Suryakumar Yadav took a playful dig at tense India-Pakistan Asia Cup 2025 clashes ahead of their February 15 match in Colombo.
Notably, the two arch-rivals square off in the continental event thrice, skipping the customary handshake and post-match pleasantries as the games were played amidst heightened tensions between two nations following the Pahalgam terror attack and retaliatory Operation Sindoor.
India emerged victorious on all three occasions, including the title clash in Dubai on September 28. The Men in Blue also refused to collect the Asia Cup trophy from ACC chief and PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi.
“The group looks good. Quite decent. We’re playing at good venues, Mumbai, Delhi and Ahmedabad. then you talk about the game on the 15th (vs Pakistan). We played them recently and we had a good time. Everything was completely focussed on cricket and nothing else as you must have seen. But yeah, I’m sure it will be a good game. The boys are always excited to have an India-Pakistan game. They have a good time when they go on the ground,” said Surya during the announcement of the T20 World Cup schedule.
India will begin their title defence against the USA in Mumbai on February 7, the opening day of the showpiece event. They then take on Namibia in Delhi on February 12. The Men in Blue will travel to Sri Lanka to face arch-rivals Pakistan on February 15, while their final group game is scheduled against the Netherlands in Ahmedabad on February 18.
There will be three matches a day during the group stage of the tournament, which will run from February 7 to March 8, with Pakistan playing all their games in Sri Lanka.
As far as the format of the tournament is concerned, the 20 teams are split into four groups of five, followed by a Super Eight stage, semi-finals, and the final.
Alongside cricket heavyweights India, Pakistan, Australia, England, South Africa, New Zealand, Sri Lanka, West Indies, Afghanistan and Bangladesh, emerging sides such as Ireland, Canada, Italy, USA, Netherlands, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Nepal, Oman and UAE will also compete.
While India and Pakistan headline Group A, Group B includes Australia, Ireland, Oman, Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe. Group C features Bangladesh, England, Italy, Nepal and the West Indies. Group D has Afghanistan, Canada, New Zealand, South Africa and the UAE.
India will host matches in Ahmedabad, Kolkata, Mumbai, Delhi, and Chennai, while Sri Lanka will contribute two venues in Colombo and one in Kandy.
