India to face USA on opening day of 2026 T20 WC on February 7

India will kickstart their T20 World Cup title defence against USA in Mumbai on February 7 as the ICC announced the schedule for the 2026 edition on Tuesday (November 25). A clash between Pakistan and Netherlands will kickstart the tournament earlier in the day in Colombo with a West Indies - Bangladesh contest sandwiched between the two in Kolkata.

As a result of an agreement that was put in place earlier this year for multi-nation tournaments hosted by India or Pakistan, the ICC have alternate options for the semifinal and final. If Pakistan go the distance, they will play their semifinal clash and the final in Colombo. If Pakistan do not make it to the final, then the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad will host the final on March 8. While Mumbai will be hosting one semifinal, Kolkata will host the other in case the 2009 champions don't qualify for the knockouts.

Group A

(India, Pakistan, Namibia, Netherlands, USA)

India and Pakistan are strong favourites to emerge on top from a group that consists of the USA, Netherlands and Namibia. Although, it's worth noting that the USA did stun Pakistan in the previous edition. The marquee clash from this group featuring archrivals India and Pakistan will be played on February 15 in Colombo.

Group B

(Sri Lanka, Australia, Ireland, Zimbabwe, Oman)

Co-hosts Sri Lanka have been handed a tougher group comparatively that features 2021 champions Australia and two tricky opponents in Zimbabwe and Ireland. Zimbabwe, who missed out on the 2024 edition, open their campaign against Sri Lanka. Oman are the final team in the group.

Group C

(England, West Indies, Bangladesh, Nepal, Italy)

England and West Indies, both two-time champions, have been placed in the same group which could get tricky with Bangladesh being the third outfit. Italy, who have made it to a World Cup for the first time in their history, are also present in the group with Nepal rounding it off.

Group D

(South Africa, Afghanistan, New Zealand, Canada, UAE)

In what looks like a group of death, 2024 runners-up have been placed in a group with New Zealand and Afghanistan. In the last edition, Afghanistan had a dream run where they eventually made it to the semifinal for the first time in their history. UAE and Canada are the less-fancied teams in the group.

The top two teams from each group will qualify for the Super Eight in which the teams will be split into two groups of four each. The top two teams from those groups will progress to the semifinals, followed by the final. Sri Lanka will get to play a home semifinal only if Pakistan also qualify for the final four alongside them. If Sri Lanka qualify for the semifinal and Pakistan do not, then the island nation will play their last four fixture in Kolkata as the first semifinal. In case India also qualify for the semis and are scheduled to face Sri Lanka, then the clash will be held in Mumbai as the second semifinal.

If India and Pakistan both qualify for the semis and are scheduled to face each other, then the contest will be held in Colombo as the first semifinal. If Pakistan and Sri Lanka both fail to qualify for the last four, then the first semifinal will be held in Kolkata and the second in Mumbai.

Based on the ICC rankings as of July 25, 2025, defending champions India (X1), England (Y1), Australia (X2), New Zealand (Y2), West Indies (X3), Pakistan (Y3), South Africa (X4) and Sri Lanka (Y4) have been seeded for the Super 8 stage. If any of these eight teams do not qualify for the Super 8, then the teams that qualify from their respective groups will replace them.

Schedule for Super 8 and knockouts