Pakistan Boycotts India matches: What's ICC T20 World Cup schedule and format?

Pakistan on Sunday announced that it will boycott its high-profile men’s T20 World Cup 2026 group league match against India, a move that could have wider repercussions for the tournament. At the same time, the Pakistan government cleared the national team’s participation in the rest of the World Cup, which begins on February 7. With the India-Pakistan clash now in doubt, attention has shifted to the T20 World Cup 2026 format, teams, venues and full match schedule.

T20 World Cup 2026: Key dates at a glance
The 10th edition of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup will feature 54 matches and conclude on March 8.

Group stage: February 7 to February 20

Super 8: February 21 to March 1
Semifinals: March 4 and March 5
Final: March 8

ICC T20 World Cup: How many teams are playing this year?

The tournament will again feature 20 teams, the same number introduced in 2024.

However, the line-up changed at the last moment after Bangladesh were expelled. Scotland stepped in as their replacement, keeping the total number of teams unchanged.

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T20 World Cup 2026 groups
The 20 teams have been divided into four groups of five teams each.

Group A
India
Namibia
Netherlands
Pakistan
USA

Group B
Australia
Ireland
Oman
Sri Lanka
Zimbabwe

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Group C
England
Italy
Nepal
West Indies
Scotland

Group D
Afghanistan
Canada
New Zealand
South Africa
United Arab Emirates (UAE)

ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026: Full Schedule

ICC T20 World Cup Group Stage Schedule

Date	Match	Time (IST)	Venue
Feb 7 (Sat)	Netherlands vs Pakistan	11:00 am	SSC, Colombo
	Scotland vs West Indies	3:00 pm	Eden Gardens, Kolkata
	India vs USA	7:00 pm	Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai
Feb 8 (Sun)	Afghanistan vs New Zealand	11:00 am	MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai
	England vs Nepal	3:00 pm	Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai
	Sri Lanka vs Ireland	7:00 pm	R Premadasa Stadium, Colombo
Feb 9 (Mon)	Scotland vs Italy	11:00 am	Eden Gardens, Kolkata
	Oman vs Zimbabwe	3:00 pm	SSC, Colombo
	Canada vs South Africa	7:00 pm	Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad
Feb 10 (Tue)	Namibia vs Netherlands	11:00 am	Arun Jaitley Stadium, New Delhi
	New Zealand vs UAE	3:00 pm	MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai
	Pakistan vs USA	7:00 pm	SSC, Colombo
Feb 11 (Wed)	Afghanistan vs South Africa	11:00 am	Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad
	Australia vs Ireland	3:00 pm	R Premadasa Stadium, Colombo
	England vs West Indies	7:00 pm	Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai
Feb 12 (Thu)	Sri Lanka vs Oman	11:00 am	Pallekele, Kandy
	Italy vs Nepal	3:00 pm	Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai
	India vs Namibia	7:00 pm	Arun Jaitley Stadium, New Delhi
Feb 13 (Fri)	Australia vs Zimbabwe	11:00 am	R Premadasa Stadium, Colombo
	Canada vs UAE	3:00 pm	Arun Jaitley Stadium, New Delhi
	Netherlands vs USA	7:00 pm	MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai
Feb 14 (Sat)	Ireland vs Oman	11:00 am	SSC, Colombo
	Scotland vs England	3:00 pm	Eden Gardens, Kolkata
	New Zealand vs South Africa	7:00 pm	Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad
Feb 15 (Sun)	Nepal vs West Indies	11:00 am	Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai
	Namibia vs USA	3:00 pm	MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai
	India vs Pakistan	7:00 pm	R Premadasa Stadium, Colombo
Feb 16 (Mon)	Afghanistan vs UAE	11:00 am	Arun Jaitley Stadium, New Delhi
	England vs Italy	3:00 pm	Eden Gardens, Kolkata
	Australia vs Sri Lanka	7:00 pm	Pallekele, Kandy
Feb 17 (Tue)	Canada vs New Zealand	11:00 am	MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai
	Ireland vs Zimbabwe	3:00 pm	Pallekele, Kandy
	Scotland vs Nepal	7:00 pm	Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai
Feb 18 (Wed)	South Africa vs UAE	11:00 am	Arun Jaitley Stadium, New Delhi
	Namibia vs Pakistan	3:00 pm	SSC, Colombo
	India vs Netherlands	7:00 pm	Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad
Feb 19 (Thu)	Italy vs West Indies	11:00 am	Eden Gardens, Kolkata
	Sri Lanka vs Zimbabwe	3:00 pm	R Premadasa Stadium, Colombo
	Afghanistan vs Canada	7:00 pm	MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai
Feb 20 (Fri)	Australia vs Oman	7:00 pm	Pallekele, Kandy

ICC T20 World Cup T20 Super 8 Stage Schedule

Date	Match	Time (IST)	Venue
Feb 21 (Sat)	TBD vs TBD	7:00 pm	R Premadasa Stadium, Colombo
Feb 22 (Sun)	TBD vs TBD	3:00 pm	Pallekele, Kandy
	TBD vs TBD	7:00 pm	Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad
Feb 23 (Mon)	TBD vs TBD	7:00 pm	Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai
Feb 24 (Tue)	TBD vs TBD	7:00 pm	Pallekele, Kandy
Feb 25 (Wed)	TBD vs TBD	7:00 pm	R Premadasa Stadium, Colombo
Feb 26 (Thu)	TBD vs TBD	3:00 pm	Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad
	TBD vs TBD	7:00 pm	MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai
Feb 27 (Fri)	TBD vs TBD	7:00 pm	R Premadasa Stadium, Colombo
Feb 28 (Sat)	TBD vs TBD	7:00 pm	Pallekele, Kandy
Mar 1 (Sun)	TBD vs TBD	3:00 pm	Arun Jaitley Stadium, New Delhi
	TBD vs TBD	7:00 pm	Eden Gardens, Kolkata

ICC T20 World Cup Semi Final, Final dates

Date	Match	Time (IST)	Venue
Mar 4 (Wed)	First semifinal	7:00 pm	Eden Gardens, Kolkata / R Premadasa Stadium, Colombo
Mar 5 (Thu)	Second semifinal	7:00 pm	Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai
Mar 8 (Sun)	Final	7:00 pm	Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad / R Premadasa Stadium, Colombo

What is the ICC T20 World Cup Tournament format?

The World Cup will be played in three phases: two group rounds followed by knockouts.

• The top two teams from each group will advance to the Super 8 stage. These eight teams will then be split into two groups of four.
• The two best teams from the Super 8 stage will qualify for the semifinals, followed by the final.

If India reach the semifinals, they will play the second semifinal at the Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai.
If Pakistan make the last four, they will play their semifinal at the R Premadasa Stadium, Colombo on March 4.

The Super 8 stage will begin on February 21, with matches spread across Colombo, Kandy, Ahmedabad, Mumbai, Chennai, New Delhi and Kolkata.

The knockout phase starts on March 4, with the first semifinal scheduled either in Kolkata or Colombo. The second semifinal will be held in Mumbai on March 5.

The final is set for March 8, with Ahmedabad and Colombo listed as the two possible venues.

ICC T20 World Cup 2026: Big questions ahead

With Pakistan confirming its boycott of the India match but agreeing to play the rest of the tournament, the ICC now faces fresh pressure as the World Cup approaches. Whether the scheduled India-Pakistan fixture goes ahead or sees a last-minute change could shape the early narrative of T20 World Cup 2026.

For now, the schedule stands, the teams are locked in, and the countdown to February 7 has begun.