ICC Men’s World T20 2026 preview : A month of slam bang cricket commences as India look to defend their coveted crown.

No team has won the world T20 thrice. No team has defended its world T20 title. No team has won the world T20 at home. Gautam Gambhir and Surya Kumar Yadav’s India are all set to change that as their campaign kicks off on February 7 in Mumbai as hosts India look to win their second successive T20 World Cup, and their first one at home. 

India, according to former winning captain MS Dhoni is one of the most dangerous teams and their recent record is a testament to that fact. They have consistently scored over 220 runs and even gone past 250 a couple of times. The opening pair of Abhishek Sharma and Ishan Kishan is an absolute menace and so is the middle order of Tilak Verma, Surya Kumar Yadav, Shivam Dube, Hardik Pandya and Axar Patel. The bowling too looks settled with Mohammad Siraj, Arshdeep Singh, Varun Chakravarthy, Kuldeep Yadav and the ever dependable Jasprit Bumrah enough to rattle out oppositions.

India squad 

Suryakumar Yadav (c), Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma, Sanju Samson, Shivam Dube, Ishan Kishan, Hardik Pandya, Arshdeep Singh, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammad Siraj, Varun Chakaravarthy, Kuldeep Yadav, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Rinku Singh

Runners up South Africa are a bit of 50/50 in the tournament. They have lost more games than they have won and with Tristian Stubbs returning, although he was not considered, it will only boost the side that has big hitters in the ranks. The return of Quinton De Kock gives them a much needed boost and the middle order, if they fire collectively, are a force to reckon with, as we saw in the last edition. South Africa will play their games in Ahmedabad and that will give them enough match practice at a ground that will host the world cup final. Under estimate the proteas at your own risk. 

South Africa squad 

Aiden Markram (c), Corbin Bosch, Dewald Brevis, Quinton de Kock, Rubin Hermann, Marco Jansen, George Linde, Keshav Maharaj, Kwena Maphaka, Lungi Ngidi, Anrich Nortje, Kagiso Rabada, Ryan Rickelton, Jason Smith, Tristan Stubbs.

England though have been horribly inconsistent since the last edition and have failed to beat any top ranked teams in ICC tournaments . The duo of Jos Butler and Phil Salt have been a treat to watch at the top and their recent T20 series win in Sri Lanka will do their momentum a world of good. Apart from Butler and Salt, Harry Brook, Jacob Bethell, Tom Banton, Will Jacks and Jamie Overton form a formdiable middle and lower order to compete against the other teams in the competition. England’s chances are slim, but again like South Africa, you never know which England side will turn up this time around as their bowling has the likes of Joffra Archer, Adil Rashid and Luke Wood who have the experience of playing in India as they have played the IPL and will use it to the T.

England squad 

Phil Salt, Jos Buttler (wk), Jacob Bethell, Tom Banton, Harry Brook (c), Sam Curran, Will Jacks, Jamie Overton, Liam Dawson, Jofra Archer, Adil Rashid, Ben Duckett, Luke Wood, Josh Tongue, Rehan Ahmed.

The Aussies…. Oh the Aussies… never to be underestimated. They are without Pat Cummins, Steve Smith and mostly Josh Hazelwood yet they are intimidating. Mitchell Marsh leads a side that looks so unpredictable.. either they will live by their sword or die by it. Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Glenn Maxwell, Tim David and Marsh himself form a formidable top 6 and although they underperformed in the Pakistan series, Australia in ICC tournaments are an aboard powerhouse, and they play an ICC tournament in India. We all know how it panned out last time around.

Australia squad 

Mitchell Marsh (captain), Travis Head, Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis, Cameron Green, Tim David, Josh Inglis (wk), Cooper Connolly, Nathan Ellis, Xavier Bartlett, Adam Zampa, Matt Renshaw, Ben Dwarshius, Matthew Kuhnemann.

West Indies come into the tournament with an abysmal ICC T20 recent record behind them. Although they won here in 2016, their 10 year challenge has not quite lived up to its mark. West Indies have a host of power hitters in their side, but with their middle name being inconsistent, it would take a miracle of sorts for them to make it to the Top 4. West Indies also have a bit of off field issues to address, particularly with Shimron Hetmyer as he has caused trouble in the past as well.  West Indies will have to outplay every opposition consistently to even think of making it to the top 4.

West Indies squad 

Shai Hope (c), Brandon King, Johnson Charles, Shimron Hetmyer, Rovman Powell, Sherfane Rutherford, Romario Shepherd, Jason Holder, Matthew Forde, Akeal Hosein, Jayden Seales, Roston Chase, Shamar Joseph, Gudakesh Motie, Quentin Sampson

Arch rivals Pakistan too have been inconsistent and their first step will be to qualify for the super 8. Something they failed to do last time around. They lost to India in a game that they dominated for most parts and the loss against the USA was the killer blow. Salman Ali agha and co do have the chops to pip and nip out their opponents but they will be aware that this format is a double edged sword as they also live and die by it. Their game against India still is in limbo and no doubt that it will garner the most views.

Pakistan squad.

Salman Agha (c), Abrar Ahmed, Babar Azam, Faheem Ashraf, Fakhar Zaman, Khawaja Mohammad Nafay (wk), Mohammad Nawaz, Salman Mirza, Naseem Shah, Sahibzada Farhan (wk), Saim Ayub, Shaheen Afridi, Shadab Khan, Usman Khan, Usman Tariq.

As far as the Kiwis are concerned, the memory of the last T20 World Cup also lingers, where losses to West Indies and Afghanistan ended their campaign prematurely. New Zealand lost terribly in their last series against India but their last game was a testament to the fact as to what they can do. Since the last T20 World Cup, New Zealand's results have followed a clear pattern. They have won 16 of 30 matches overall, but against India, England and Australia they have managed just one win in 10 games. Away from that group, the returns are far stronger, with series wins over Pakistan, West Indies and Sri Lanka, and a clean sweep in a tri-series in Zimbabwe featuring South Africa. In a group that has South Africa and Afghanistan, it would be another interesting world cup to watch as to who outplays whom.

New Zealand squad 

Mitchell Santner (c), Finn Allen, Michael Bracewell, Mark Chapman, Devon Conway, Jacob Duffy, Lockie Ferguson, Matt Henry, Kyle Jamieson, Daryl Mitchell, James Neesham, Glenn Phillips, Rachin Ravindra, Tim Seifert, Ish Sodhi

Co hosts Sri Lanka are the rather dark horses of the tournament, but they might end up going into further darkness. They have done nothing to be considered as favourites and even with them hosting a host of league games, they should play party spoilers instead of thinking of a top 4 spot.  They will have Australia, Ireland and Oman to play and them qualifying for the super 8s should not be a concern, but post that what happens is the key.

Sri Lanka squad 

Dasun Shanaka (captain), Pathum Nissanka, Kusal Perera, Kusal Mendis, Charith Asalanka, Janith Liyanage, Kamindu Mendis, Kamil Mishara, Pavan Rathnayake, Dunith Wellalage, Wanindu Hasaranga, Matheesha Pathirana, Maheesh Theekshana, Dushmantha Chameera, Eshan Malinga

As far as Scotland, Ireland, Zimbabwe, Namibia and USA are concerned, they have the capability to cause some upsets, particularly Zimbabwe who have been pretty entertaining with the way they play. They did it in 2022 and USA did it in 2024, but this time around the conditions would be very different. Expect one of these minnows to cause some maximum damage as they definitely would be keen to make this tournament interesting.

The T20 world cup enters its 10th edition and has produced many riveting moments. Needless to say, PITCHPOINT waits to edit its list, as slam bang action gets underway.

Scotland Squad 

Richie Berrington (c), Matthew Cross (wk), George Munsey, Michael Jones, Tom Bruce, Brandon McMullen, Finlay McCreath, Michael Leask, Mark Watt, Chris Greaves, Safyaan Sharif, Bradley Currie, Oliver Davidson, Zainullah Ihsan, Bradley Wheal.

Italy squad 

Wayne Madsen (c), Anthony Mosca, Justin Mosca, JJ Smuts, Ben Manenti, Harry Manenti, Marcus Campopiano, Gian Piero Meade(wk), Grant Stewart, Crishan Kalugamage, Thomas Draca, Zain Ali, Ali Hasan, Syed Naqvi, Jaspreet Singh.

Oman Squad 

Jatinder Singh (c), Vinayak Shukla (wk), Wasim Ali, Hammad Mirza (wk), Nadeem Khan, Karan Sonavale, Ashish Odedara, Mohammad Nadeem, Shakeel Ahmed, Shah Faisal, Sufyan Mehmood, Jay Odedra, Shafiq Jan, Jiten Ramanandi, Amir Kaleem.

Ireland Squad 

Paul Stirling (c), Mark Adair, Ross Adair, Ben Calitz, Curtis Campher, Gareth Delany, George Dockrell, Matthew Humphreys, Josh Little, Barry McCarthy, Harry Tector, Tim Tector, Lorcan Tucker (vc), Ben White, Craig Young.

Zimbabwe squad 

Sikandar Raza (c), Brian Bennett, Ryan Burl, Graeme Cremer, Bradley Evans, Clive Madande, Tinotenda Maposa, Tadiwanashe Marumani, Wellington Masakadza, Tony Munyonga, Tashinga Musekiwa, Blessing Muzarabani, Dion Myers, Richard Ngarava, Brendan Taylor.

USA squad

Monank Patel (c), Jasdeep Singh, Andries Gous, Shehan Jayasuriya, Milind Kumar, Shayan Jahangir, Saiteja Mukkamalla, Sanjay Krishnamurthi, Harmeet Singh, Nosthush Kenjige, Shadley van Schalkwyk, Saurabh Netravalkar, Ali Khan, Mohammad Mohsin, Shubham Ranjane

                      ICC world T20 2026 Fixtures.

February 7: Pakistan vs Netherlands in Colombo at 11:00 AM

February 7: West Indies vs Scotland in Kolkata at 3:00 PM

February 7: India vs USA in Mumbai at 7:00 PM

February 8: New Zealand vs Afghanistan in Chennai at 3:00 PM

February 8: England vs Nepal in Mumbai at 7:00 PM

February 8: Sri Lanka vs Ireland in Colombo at 7:00 PM

February 9: Scotland vs Italy in Kolkata at 11:00 AM

February 9: Zimbabwe vs Oman in Colombo at 3:00 PM

February 9: South Africa vs Canada in Ahmedabad at 7:00 PM

February 10: Netherlands vs Namibia in Ahmedabad at 11:00 AM

February 10: New Zealand vs UAE in Chennai at 3:00 PM

February 10: Pakistan vs UAE in Colombo at 7:00 PM

February 11: South Africa vs Afghanistan in Ahmedabad at 3:00 PM

February 11: Australia vs Ireland in Colombo at 7:00 PM

February 11: England vs West Indies in Mumbai at 7:00 PM

February 12: Sri Lanka vs Oman in Kandy at 3:00 PM

February 12: Nepal vs Italy in Mumbai at 7:00 PM

February 12: India vs Namibia in Delhi at 7:00 PM

February 13: Australia vs Zimbabwe in Colombo at 3:00 PM

February 13: Canada vs Namibia in Colombo at 7:00 PM

February 13: USA vs Netherlands in Chennai at 7:00 PM

February 14: Ireland vs Oman in Colombo at 11:00 AM

February 14: England vs Scotland in Kolkata at 3:00 PM

February 14: New Zealand vs South Africa in Ahmedabad at 7:00 PM

February 15: West Indies vs Nepal in Mumbai at 11:00 AM

February 15: USA vs Namibia in Chennai at 3:00 PM

February 15: India vs Pakistan in Colombo at 7:00 PM

February 16: Afghanistan vs UAE in Delhi at 11:00 AM

February 16: England vs Italy in Kolkata at 3:00 PM

February 16: Australia vs Sri Lanka in Kandy at 7:00 PM

February 17: New Zealand vs Canada in Chennai at 3:00 PM

February 17: Ireland vs Zimbabwe in Kandy at 7:00 PM

February 18: Scotland vs Nepal in Mumbai at 11:00 AM

February 18: South Africa vs UAE in Delhi at 3:00 PM

February 18: Pakistan vs Namibia in Colombo at 3:00 PM

February 18: India vs Netherlands in Ahmedabad at 7:00 PM

February 19: Italy vs West Indies in Kolkata at 3:00 PM

February 19: Sri Lanka vs Zimbabwe in Colombo at 7:00 PM

February 20: Afghanistan vs Canada in Chennai at 3:00 PM

February 20: Australia vs Oman in Kandy at 7:00 PM

February 22: Y1 vs Y4 in Kandy at 3:00 PM

February 23: X2 vs X3 in Ahmedabad at 7:00 PM

February 24: Y2 vs Y3 in Mumbai at 7:00 PM

February 25: X1 vs X4 in Colombo at 7:00 PM

February 26: Y3 vs Y4 in Ahmedabad at 3:00 PM

February 27: X2 vs X4 in Chennai at 7:00 PM

February 28: Y1 vs Y2 in Colombo at 3:00 PM

March 1: X1 vs X3 in Kolkata at 7:00 PM

March 4: Semi Final 1 in Kolkata/Colombo (Time TBC)

March 5: Semi Final 2 in Mumbai (Time TBC)

March 8: Final in Ahmedabad/Colombo (Time TBC)