The 10th edition of the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup will be held from Saturday to March 8 against a backdrop of a diplomatic standoff and rising tensions among South Asian neighbours.
The 30-day tournament will feature 55 matches across eight venues, five in India and three in Sri Lanka.
The T20 format is a fast form of cricket compared with One Day Internationals (ODIs). The teams have 20 overs per side with matches lasting about three to four hours. The format rewards power hitting and aggression, and momentum can change in a few deliveries.
Here is everything you need to know about the tournament:
Where are the games being played?
The tournament will open in Colombo, Sri Lanka, at the Sinhalese Sports Club Cricket Ground on Saturday with Pakistan taking on the Netherlands. The final is scheduled to be held at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, India, on March 8.
Pakistan, who won the tournament in 2009, has asked the International Cricket Council (ICC) to play all its World Cup matches in Sri Lanka rather than in India, citing security concerns. This arrangement mirrors previous ICC decisions that allowed India to play matches hosted by Pakistan at neutral venues.
Other hosting cities include New Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata in India and Kandy in Sri Lanka.
Which teams have qualified?
Twenty teams will take part in the tournament:
- Afghanistan
- Australia – 2021 champions
- Canada
- England – 2010 and 2022 champions
- India – 2007 and 2024 champions
- Ireland
- Italy – making their debut
- Namibia
- Nepal
- Netherlands
- New Zealand
- Oman
- Pakistan – 2009 champions
- Scotland
- South Africa
- Sri Lanka – 2014 champions
- United Arab Emirates
- United States
- West Indies – 2012 and 2016 champions
- Zimbabwe
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Notably missing from this list is Bangladesh, which was removed from the tournament after its cricket board, citing government security concerns about playing in India, requested that its matches be relocated. The ICC rejected the request and invited Scotland to replace them.
This will be the first time Bangladesh will miss a men’s T20 World Cup.
In protest, Pakistan’s government said it will not take the field against India in their scheduled Group A fixture on February 15.
The decision comes amid heightened tensions after Mohsin Naqvi, Pakistan’s interior minister and chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board, accused India of involvement in attacks in Balochistan last week that, according to authorities, killed at least 31 civilians, 17 security personnel and 145 fighters.
Who are the previous winners?
India won the inaugural title in 2007, defeating Pakistan in South Africa.
In 2009, Pakistan won the title. England followed in 2010, and the West Indies emerged as the tournament’s first multiple winners after securing titles in 2012 and 2016.
Sri Lanka claimed the title in 2014 while Australia added their name to the list in 2021. England secured their second title in 2022 before India became a two-time champion with victory in 2024, joining the West Indies and England among the most successful teams in the competition’s history.
No team have won the trophy consecutively.
Match schedule
The 20 teams are split into four groups, and each team will compete against the others in their group for a total of 40 matches.
The top two teams from each group will progress to the Super 8 stage, where they will be split into two groups of four. The top two teams from each group will move on to the semifinals, leading to the final on March 8.
How much is the prize money?
The ICC has not yet revealed the prize money for the 2026 tournament, but in 2024, the ICC allocated a pool of $11.25m in prize money with the winners receiving $2.45m, the highest prize money in the tournament’s history.
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