India and Pakistan have been pitted against each other during the group stages of the T20 World Cup 2026 to be held in India and Sri Lanka. The marquee match will take place on Feb. 15 in Colombo.
The International Cricket Council (ICC) announced the schedule for the T20 World Cup 2026 in Mumbai on Tuesday. The tournament will be held from Feb. 7 to March 8. The Netherlands, Namibia and the USA are also grouped with India and Pakistan in Group A.
India will play their first group match against the USA at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Feb. 7 on the opening day of the T20 World Cup. They then play Namibia at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi on Feb. 12.
The defending champions will then face off against arch-rivals Pakistan at the R Premadasa Stadium. Their final group match will be against the Netherlands at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Feb. 18.
A total of eight venues have been selected to host the 2026 T20 World Cup. Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai and Ahmedabad in India, and Colombo (two venues) and Kandy in Sri Lanka.
This will be India's first meeting against Pakistan since the Asia Cup 2025, where the two teams met in three acrimonious matches. India beat Pakistan all three times, including the final, to lift the trophy.
The acrimony started after 'Operation Sindoor', which was launched by the Indian government after Pakistan-based terrorists killed 26 civilians in Pahalgam on April 22, 2025. The terrorists targeted Hindu tourists during the attack.
India and Pakistan have decided not to play in each other's countries in multi-national cricket tournaments since the 2025 Champions Trophy. All of Pakistan's matches will be played in Colombo or Kandy in Sri Lanka.
Also Read: India-Pak Match: Suryakumar Yadav Dedicates Win To Pahalgam Terror Attack Victims, Skips Handshake
A total of 20 teams will participate in the tournament. There will be a total of four groups of five teams in the initial stages of the T20 World Cup. The top two teams from each group will then progress to the Super 8 stage. There will be two groups of four teams each.
The top two from each group will then face off in the semifinals. The final will be held in Ahmedabad on March 8, unless Pakistan qualifies in which case it will likely be held in Colombo.
Group B has Australia, Sri Lanka, Ireland, Oman and Zimbabwe. Group C houses England, Bangladesh, West Indies, Nepal and Italy, who will be making their debut in the men's T20 World Cup.
Group D will have South Africa, New Zealand, Afghanistan, Canada and the UAE.
If India reaches the semis, they will mostly play in Mumbai on March 5. The other semifinal will be played in either Kolkata or Colombo on March 4, depending on whether Pakistan make it that far.
This will be the 10th edition of the men's T20 World Cup. India won the inaugural tournament in 2007 by beating Pakistan in South Africa. India also won the 2024 edition by beating South Africa in Barbados.
This is the second time India will be hosting the T20 World Cup after 2016.
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