2026 T20 WC: India to open title defence on Feb 7

India will begin their T20 World Cup title defence on February 7, 2026, against the USA in Mumbai as the ICC unveiled the full schedule for the tournament co-hosted by India and Sri Lanka.

The tenth edition of the competition will begin earlier in the day with a match between Pakistan and the Netherlands in Colombo, followed by a match between Bangladesh and the West Indies in Kolkata, and finally an Indian match under lights.

The major India-Pakistan match is set to take place in Colombo on February 15. Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai, and Ahmedabad will host the remaining group matches for India.

The top two teams from each group will progress to the Super Eight stage, split into two groups of four. From there, the top two in each Super Eight pool advance to the semifinals before the March 8 final determines the 2026 champion.

Meanwhile, Rohit Sharma, who captained reigning champions India to glory at the previous T20 World Cup in 2024, was named the tournament ambassador. Rohit was prolific for India in T20Is, ending with 4231 runs at an average of 32.01 and a strike-rate of 140.89. Rohit retired from the shortest format following India’s triumph in the Americas last year, which broke an 11-year drought of ICC trophies for the Indian team.

T20 World Cup Groups:

Group A: India, USA, Namibia, Netherlands, Pakistan

Group B: Australia, Sri Lanka, Zimbabwe, Ireland, Oman

Group C: England, West Indies, Bangladesh, Italy, Nepal

Group D: South Africa, New Zealand, Afghanistan, Canada, UAE

India schedule:

1. India vs USA — February 7, Mumbai

2. India vs Namibia — February 12, New Delhi

3. India vs Pakistan — February 15, Colombo

4. India vs Netherlands — February 18, Ahmedabad