25 November,2025 08:22 PM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondent
Suryakumar Yadav, Babar Azam (Pic: File Pic)
Ahead of the much-anticipated T20 World Cup 2026, the International Cricket Council (ICC) has announced the schedule for the entire tournament.
The upcoming global showpiece will be hosted by India and Sri Lanka, with the tournament scheduled to kick start on February 7.
A total of 20 teams will participate in the tournament, which will go on for 29 days. Group A consists the teams such as India, Pakistan, USA, Namibia, and the Netherlands. Group B include Australia, Sri Lanka, Zimbabwe, Ireland, and Oman. England and the West Indies have been placed in Group C along with Bangladesh, Italy, and Nepal. Group D will see teams such as South Africa, New Zealand, Afghanistan, Canada, UAE contest among each other.
The incumbent chairman of the ICC, Jay Shah, shared a post on his official social media handle, in which he announced that veteran Team India opening batsman Rohit Sharma would be the brand ambassador for the event.
"It's my honour to announce that @ImRo45 is the tournament ambassador for the upcoming @T20WorldCup in India & Sri Lanka. There can be no better representative for the event than the winning captain of the 2024 T20 World Cup, and a player who has been in all nine editions so far," the post read.
The defending champions, Team India, will begin their T20 World Cup 2026 campaign with the game against the USA on February 7 at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.
The "Men in Blue" will lock horns against Namibia on February 12 at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi. The high-octane match between arch-rivals, India and Pakistan, is scheduled to be played on February 15 at the R. Premadasa Stadium in Colombo. India will conclude their group stage matches by playing a clash against the Netherlands on February 18 at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.
