New Delhi. The wait to see the World Cup clash between the teams of India and Pakistan once again is about to end. In the 2026 Men’s T20 World Cup, both the teams will face each other in Colombo on 15 February. The schedule of the tournament will be released by ICC today in Mumbai. This match will take place for the first time between the two teams after three exciting matches of the 2025 Asia Cup. This match will be played at R Premadasa Stadium and this will be India’s third group match. According to ESPNcricinfo, India and Pakistan have been placed in the same group with USA, Netherlands and Namibia.
India will play its first group match against USA on 7 February in Mumbai. After this, it will face Namibia in Delhi on 12th February, then it will face Pakistan and the last group match will be against Netherlands in Ahmedabad on 18th February. Three matches will be played every day during the group stage. The 2026 Men’s T20 World Cup will be jointly hosted by India and Sri Lanka from 7 February to 8 March. Pakistan will play all its matches in Colombo or Kandy.
The format of the tournament is the same as the previous tournaments held in USA and West Indies in 2024. In this, 20 teams have been divided into five groups of four each. The top two teams from each group will reach the Super Eight stage, where they will be divided into two groups. The top two teams from both the groups of Super Eight will reach the semi-finals, after which the final will be played.
If India progresses from the group stage, its three Super Eight matches will be held in Ahmedabad, Chennai and Kolkata. If India reaches the semi-finals then its match will be held in Mumbai. ICC has shortlisted Colombo or Kolkata as the second semi-final venue. This will depend on Sri Lanka and Pakistan qualifying. Ahmedabad has been chosen for the final match but if Pakistan somehow makes it, the match will be held in Colombo.
Apart from hosts India and Sri Lanka, the other 18 teams participating in the T20 World Cup are: Afghanistan, Australia, Bangladesh, England, South Africa, United States, West Indies, New Zealand, Pakistan, Ireland, Canada, Italy, Netherlands, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Nepal, Oman and UAE.
