Narendra Modi Stadium to host 2026 T20 World Cup final, but Pakistan twist adds spice; tournament to begin on...: Report

The tournament will comprise 20 teams and 55 matches, which will be played across five venues in India and two in Sri Lanka. The final is reportedly set to be staged at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. However, if Pakistan qualify for the summit clash, the match will be held in Colombo.

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The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is the host for the 2026 T20 World Cup. However, Sri Lanka was picked as a co-host to stage all of Pakistan's matches, after the BCCI and the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) entered into an agreement earlier this year not to play in each other's countries owing to the long-standing geopolitical tension between the two governments, which escalated further after the Pahalgam terror attack in April this year.

The report further said that while ICC has yet to lock in on the schedule, the window for the tournament has definitely been identified and informed to all the participating nations.

At present, only 15 teams have qualified for the T20 World Cup next year, including India, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, Australia, Bangladesh, England, South Africa, USA, West Indies, New Zealand, Pakistan, Ireland, Canada, Netherlands, and debutant Italy. Of the remaining five slots, two will emerge from the Africa regional qualifier and three from the Asia and East Asia Pacific qualifier.

The report also revealed that the format, introduced in the 2024 T20 World Cup, will remain unchanged. This implies that the 20 participating teams will be divided into four groups, where the top two sides from each of the groups will make the Super Eight. In the second round, the eight teams will again be divided into two groups, where the top two sides from each group will make the semifinals.

The start of 2026 will be a busy year for the BCCI, which is hosting not one but four big tournaments. The year will begin with the Women's Premier League (WPL), for which the January-February window is earmarked and will take place amid the men's team's home fixture against New Zealand in the ODI and T20I format, between January 11 to 31. This will be followed by the World Cup, and then the 19th edition of the IPL, tentatively between March 15 and May 31.

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