England face debutants Italy at 2026 T20 World Cup

England will face tournament debutants Italy at the 2026 Men's T20 World Cup, while defending champions India and Pakistan will renew their rivalry in the group stage.

England and Italy have been drawn together in Group C and will meet in Kolkata on 16 February.

Harry Brook's side will begin their tournament against Nepal on 8 February (Mumbai) before playing West Indies (11 February, Mumbai) and Bangladesh (14 February, Kolkata).

India and Pakistan, meanwhile, are in Group A alongside Namibia, the Netherlands, and the USA, and will face off in Colombo, Sri Lanka, on 15 February. It will be their first meeting since they contested three fiery matches at the 2025 Asia Cup.

The tournament will run from 7 February to 8 March, with three matches per day across the group stage, and is being co-hosted by India and Sri Lanka.

It will follow the same format as the 2024 edition, with the 20 teams divided into four groups of five. The top two teams in each group will advance to the Super Eights, where they are split into two groups of four.

The top two in each group will then progress to the semi-finals, which will be held on 4 March (in Kolkata or Colombo) and 5 March (in Mumbai).

Pakistan will play all of their matches in Sri Lanka because of ongoing political tensions with India.

The final will be hosted in Ahmedabad, unless Pakistan qualify, when it will be moved to Colombo.

Australia begin their tournament against Ireland on 11 February, with Sri Lanka, Zimbabwe and Oman the other sides in Group B.

New Zealand, South Africa and Afghanistan are in a tricky Group D alongside Canada and the United Arab Emirates.

Men's T20 World Cup 2026: Full schedule

Group A: India, Pakistan, USA, Netherlands, Namibia

Group B: Australia, Sri Lanka, Ireland, Zimbabwe, Oman

Group C: England, West Indies, Bangladesh, Nepal, Italy

Group D: New Zealand, South Africa, Afghanistan, Canada, UAE

All start times BST

7 February: Pakistan v Netherlands (Colombo, 5.30), West Indies v Bangladesh (Kolkata, 9.30), India v USA (Mumbai, 13.30)

8 February: New Zealand v Afghanistan (Chennai, 5.30), England v Nepal (Mumbai, 9.30), Sri Lanka v Ireland (Colombo, 13.30)

9 February: Bangladesh v Italy (Kolkata, 5.30), Zimbabwe v Oman (Colombo, 9.30), South Africa v Canada (Ahmedabad, 13.30)

10 February: Netherlands v Namibia (Delhi, 5.30), New Zealand v UAE (Chennai, 9.30), Pakistan v USA (Colombo, 13.30)

11 February: South Africa v Afghanistan (Ahmedabad, 5.30), Australia v Ireland (Colombo, 9.30), England v West Indies (Mumbai, 13.30)

12 February: Sri Lanka v Oman (Kandy, 5.30), Nepal v Italy (Mumbai, 9.30), India v Namibia (Delhi, 13.30)

13 February: Australia v Zimbabwe (Colombo, 5.30), Canada v UAE (Delhi, 9.30), USA v Netherlands (Chennai, 13.30)

14 February: Ireland v Oman (Colombo, 5.30), England v Bangladesh (Kolkata, 9.30), New Zealand v South Africa (Ahmedabad, 13.30)

15 February: West Indies v Nepal (Mumbai, 5.30), USA v Namibia (Chennai, 9.30), India v Pakistan (Colombo, 13.30)

16 February: Afghanistan v UAE (Delhi, 5.30), England v Italy (Kolkata, 9.30), Australia v Sri Lanka (Kandy, 13.30)

17 February: New Zealand v Canada (Chennai, 5.30), Ireland v Zimbabwe (Kandy, 9.30), Bangladesh v Nepal (Mumbai, 13.30)

18 February: South Africa v UAE (Delhi, 5.30), Pakistan v Namibia (Colombo, 9.30), India v Netherlands (Ahmedabad, 13.30)

19 February: West Indies v Italy (Kolkata, 5.30), Sri Lanka v Zimbabwe (Colombo, 9.30), Afghanistan v Canada (Chennai, 13.30)

20 February: Australia v Oman (Kandy, 13.30)

21 February: Y2 v Y3 (Colombo, 13.30)

22 February: Y1 v Y4 (Kandy, 9.30), X1 v X4 (Ahmedabad,13.30)

23 February: X2 v X3 (Mumbai,13.30)

24 February: Y1 v Y3 (Kandy, 13.30)

25 February: Y2 v Y4 (Colombo,13.30)

26 February: X3 v X4 (Ahmedabad, 9.30), X1 v X2 (Chennai, 13.30)

27 February: Y1 v Y2 (Colombo,13.30)

28 February: Y3 v Y4 (Kandy, 13.30)

1 March: X2 v X4 (Delhi, 9.30), X1 v X3 (Kolkata, 13.30)

4 March: Semi-final 1 (Kolkata or Colombo,13.30)

5 March: Semi-final 2 (Mumbai, 13.30)

8 March: Final (Ahmedabad or Colombo,13.30)

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