The 2026 T20 World Cup is going to be held in between the first week of February and the first week of March. India and Sri Lanka will be the host countries for the tenth edition of the tournament.
India will have the home ground advantage and thus will be the favorites and the title defenders. Besides, Sri Lanka will try hard to get back the cup which they had last in 2014. Additionally, 18 more teams would be present in the event, each of them hoping for the title and playing in different places in both the nations.
Now, the question is: Which venues are going to be the 2026 T20 World Cup hosts?
The International Cricket Council (ICC) has decided on eight stadiums in India and Sri Lanka for the 2026 T20 World Cup. Out of these eight venues, five are in India and the remaining three in Sri Lanka.
Venues for The T20 World Cup 2026
Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad (India)
Without any doubt, the biggest cricket stadium in the world will be the venue for the 2026 T20 World Cup matches.
India is going to play their first match in the tournament at the venue which will also host the opening match on February 7, 2026. The venue also witnessed the opening match of the 2023 ODI World Cup.
The Narendra Modi stadium would probably be the site for the final, just like in 2023, if the Pakistan team does not reach the final. However, the venue will still hold several group stage and super eight matches.
The venue will not favor batsmen or bowlers unduly to give one side an advantage, but still phenomenal scores can be expected.
Kolkata’s Eden Gardens (India)
The Eden Gardens in Kolkata, which is a venue representing one of India’s cultural heritage, will be hosting the ICC T20 tournament.
The venue was where the West Indies won the final match that afternoon and four other group stage games were also played. Kolkata will not host the final this time but it will offer one of the two semi-finals.
Slow bowlers have generally liked the pitch at Eden Gardens, but the hitters have also enjoyed scoring runs in this ground recently.
Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai (India)
The semi-final match of the 2026 World Cup scheduled will quite probably be played in the Wankhede Stadium at Mumbai.
The stadium has been the ground for the semi-finals in the 2016 T20 World Cup and the 2023 ODI World Cup. The final match of the 2011 World Cup, which India won against Sri Lanka, was also held at the Wankhede Stadium.
In T20 matches, the Wankhede Stadium is a batters’ paradise as it usually scores high because of its short boundaries and the fast outfield.
Arun Jaitley Stadium, Delhi (India)
Delhi, the capital city of India, will be the venue for the group stage and super eight round matches in this edition.
It has been a host for many ICC tournaments, the 2023 ODI World Cup being the last one. One of the semi-finals of the T20 World Cup 2016 organized by India was also played here.
Delhi’s pitch is slow, bringing spinners into the limelight. However, the smaller dimensions of the ground allow batters to easily find boundaries.
MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai (India)
Chennai will host the T20 World Cup matches for the first time in 2026. However, this venue has already witnessed four ODI World Cups, so the T20 event is a new one.
The MA Chidambaram Stadium is going to be the venue for the group stage and super eight matches. Spinners are going to be the best in all matches on the dry surface.
R. Premadasa Stadium, Colombo (Sri Lanka)
R. Premadasa Stadium in Colombo is a well-known venue in Sri Lanka and will likely host one semi-final match if either Sri Lanka or Pakistan qualifies.
The venue might also host the final if Pakistan goes through. Colombo had earlier witnessed the final of the 2012 T20 World Cup.
RPS usually provides dry and slow wickets which are a great help for the bowlers. Batters could find it tough to score runs because of the slight increase in the boundary size.
Pallekele International Cricket Stadium, Kandy (Sri Lanka)
Kandy was a host venue for the 2012 T20 World Cup. It will then again host the group stage matches.
The Pallekele International Cricket Stadium has balanced surfaces which lead to competitive matches. The batters will get strokes done using the pace and bounce while spinners may later on come into the picture.
The third venue in Sri Lanka
The third venue in Sri Lanka has not been confirmed yet. But it is most likely that Dambulla or Hambantota will be the one to share the hosting duties.
