T20 World Cup 2026: India, Pakistan handed favourable groups

ISLAMABAD: India and Pakistan appear to have received relatively favourable draws for the T20I World Cup 2026, with both sides placed in a group featuring only associate teams apart from each other. In contrast, co-hosts Sri Lanka of the global tournament (ranked No. 8) face one of the tournament’s toughest challenges in the form of “group of death.”

Sri Lanka’s group for the T20 World Cup 2026 includes Australia (No. 2), Zimbabwe (No. 11), and Ireland (No. 12), along with an improving Oman side placed at No. 20. For the island nation, the path to the Super Eight stage looks far more demanding than that of their subcontinental counterparts.

India and Pakistan, meanwhile, are the only Test-playing teams in their pool. They will go up against the USA (No. 18), Namibia (No. 15) and the Netherlands (No. 13). With the top two sides qualifying for the Super Eight, both Pakistan and India enter the globally awaited tournament as favourites to advance.

The World Cup 2026 features four groups of five teams each, and other pools also carry strong contenders for the “group of death” label. England (No. 3) and West Indies (No. 6), both former champions, share a group with Bangladesh (No. 9), plus Nepal (No. 17) and Italy (No. 28). Another tightly contested pool includes South Africa (No. 5), New Zealand (No. 4), and Afghanistan (No. 10), along with UAE (No. 16) and Canada (No. 18).

India will open their campaign against the USA who last time hosted the global tournament, followed by fixtures against Namibia, Pakistan, and the Netherlands. The India-Pakistan much anticipated match will take place in Colombo, as scheduled earlier.

In India, matches will be hosted across Chennai, Kolkata, Mumbai Delhi and Ahmedabad, while Colombo and Kandy will serve as Sri Lanka’s venues. Ahmedabad is set to host the final, unless Pakistan qualify for the title match. Mumbai and Kolkata are among the frontrunners for the semifinals, with Colombo also being considered depending on team progression.

The tournament format remains straightforward as the top two teams from each pool move into the Super Eight, followed by the semifinals and the final. On Nov 25, the ICC will release the full official draw in Mumbai.