ICC Finalizes Stadiums for 2026 T20 World Cup: The International Cricket Council (ICC) has announced the venue for the T20 World Cup 2026 to be played in February-March next year. This time the tournament will be jointly hosted by India and Sri Lanka. The ICC has approved a total of eight venues, which include five cities in India and three in Sri Lanka.
According to ICC, the semi-final matches of the T20 World Cup will be played at Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad and Eden Gardens in Kolkata. However, the final decision will be taken after it is decided between which teams the semi-finals will be held. If either Pakistan or Sri Lanka reaches the semi-finals, their match will be played in Colombo. At the same time, if any of these teams does not reach the last four, then both the semi-finals will be held in India.
The ICC has not yet officially announced the venue of the final match. Tournament organizers say that the venue of the final will depend on which teams finish in the top two. If Pakistan reaches the final, the title match will definitely be held in Colombo, Sri Lanka.
Five major cities Ahmedabad, Kolkata, Mumbai, Delhi and Chennai have been selected for the T20 World Cup in India. Whereas in Sri Lanka, two stadiums in Colombo and one ground in Kandy will host the tournament. ICC said that all the venues have been finalized keeping in mind the modern facilities and security standards.
The format of T20 World Cup 2026 will be similar to the tournament held in America and West Indies last year. A total of 20 teams will participate in it, which will be divided into four groups. There will be five teams each in each group and the top two teams of each group will enter the Super-8 stage. After this, the top four teams from Super-8 will reach the knockout semi-finals.
Apart from all 13 Test playing countries, Canada, Netherlands, UAE, Nepal, Oman and Namibia have also qualified. This time the Italian team is going to debut in the T20 World Cup for the first time.
It is noteworthy that India is the current champion of the T20 World Cup. Team India won the title by defeating South Africa in the final played in June 2024. ICC is soon going to announce the groups of teams and the complete schedule, for which cricket fans are eagerly waiting.
